POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Rafał Waszkiewicz and Bartosz Pyzder, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System The Polish legal system is based on civil law. In civil proceedings, the adversarial principle applies but the court is allowed to admit evi- dence on an ex officio basis. During the proceedings, the parties submit writ- ten pleadings in which they express their posi- tions on the case together with the evidentiary motions. The parties also submit documents that prove their positions. The submitted documents are the most important pieces of evidence. The court generally hears cases at oral hearings. The parties are allowed to present their positions at the hearing. The court and the parties examine the witnesses and expert witnesses. Although judgments are announced publicly, the court may decide to announce the verdict in a closed session. As a civil law system, the Polish legal system does not recognise the concept of binding prec- edents. Even so, the legal opinions expressed in the judgments of the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal are usually followed by the courts of lower instances, particularly when there is an established line of case law. 1.2 Court System In Poland, the administration of justice is admin- istered by common courts, which include: • district courts, which are the courts of first instance; • regional courts, which are the courts of first instance in cases in which the dispute exceeds PLN100,000 and in some other cases, regardless of the amount at dispute,
as well as the courts of second instance in all other cases; • courts of appeal, which are the courts of second instance for the cases heard by the regional courts in first instance; and • the Supreme Court. The courts are divided into divisions, eg, civil, criminal, family, commercial and labour. The administrative courts are separated from the common courts. The duration of the proceedings varies signifi- cantly in different courts. Typically, in the small- er courts the first hearing takes place within approximately six months of the commencement of proceedings. However, in courts in the largest cities, the first hearing is usually held more than a year after the lawsuit is filed. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings All parties have access to the case file. The court can grant access to the file to a third party when that person has demonstrated a legal interest. The hearings and the announcement of judg- ments are public, so third persons may appear. This entitlement is excluded when the hearing is conducted “in camera”. In camera hearings are mandatory in some cases, eg, when the public hearing of the case threatens public order. The parties may request that the hearing is conduct- ed in camera if the commercial secrecy of the parties may be disclosed. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Parties may participate in the proceedings on their own or they may be represented by: • an attorney-at-law; • legal counsel; • a patent attorney if the case concerns intel- lectual property;
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