POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Jaroslaw Kruk, Joanna Bogdanska and Urszula Brzozowska, KW Kruk and Partners Law Firm
Extraterritorial Reach of Polish Courts Polish courts may exercise extraterritorial jurisdic - tion in civil fraud matters where there is a strong Pol - ish nexus. This includes economic loss suffered in Poland or where key evidence or victims are located in Poland. However, courts are cautious in doing so and will examine whether there is a sufficient connect - ing factor to Poland under the relevant EU instrument, treaty or the Code of Civil Procedure. 4.2 Service of Proceedings out of the Jurisdiction Standard Procedure for Foreign Service Service of documents in civil and commercial mat - ters on parties located outside Poland depends on the destination country, as follows: • within the EU, service is governed by the EU Ser - vice Regulation (2020/1784), enabling transmission through designated authorities; • for non-EU states, Poland relies on the Hague Ser - vice Convention or relevant bilateral treaties; and • if no treaty exists, service is conducted via diplo - matic channels, which may be significantly slower. In criminal cases, international service follows: • the 1959 European Convention on Mutual Assis - tance in Criminal Matters and its additional Proto - cols; • bilateral treaties on legal assistance in criminal matters; and • diplomatic channels via the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. EU Regulation 2020/1784 does not apply to criminal matters in the EU, but certain procedural acts can be executed under the European Investigation Order (EIO). Alternative and Expedited Options To speed up service, courts may authorise: • service by electronic means, where accepted by the foreign state; • service through foreign counsel or process servers; or
after three years from the date on which the company became aware of the damage and the person obliged to repair it. However, in any case, the claim expires ten years after the date on which the event causing the damage occurred. 4. Overseas Parties in Fraud Claims 4.1 Joining Overseas Parties to Fraud Claims Polish civil procedure permits the joinder of foreign defendants in fraud claims where there is a sufficient connection between the foreign party and the subject matter of the dispute. This may include cases where: • the fraudulent act had effects in Poland; • the assets in question are located in Poland; or • the foreign party acted in concert with domestic defendants. The joinder must comply with the rules on interna - tional jurisdiction, primarily under the EU Brussels I bis Regulation (for EU-based parties), or under bilateral or multilateral treaties for third countries. If no treaty applies, jurisdiction is assessed under the Polish Code of Civil Procedure, typically based on domicile, place of performance or where damage occurred. In criminal cases, Polish courts may exercise jurisdic - tion over and prosecute foreign individuals and enti - ties involved in fraud if: • the offence was committed in whole or in part within territory of Poland; • the offence produced effects on Polish territory; or • the victim is a Polish citizen or entity and the offence is punishable in both jurisdictions, so the jurisdictional bases provided by the Penal Code apply. This follows from provisions of the Polish Penal Code (Articles 110–114) governing territorial, personal and protective jurisdiction. Cross-border co-operation is facilitated through mutual legal assistance treaties, EU legal frameworks (eg, the European Arrest Warrant) and Interpol red notices.
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