POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Rafał Waszkiewicz and Bartosz Pyzder, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third-Party Funding The third-party funder may fund all the costs of litigation, eg, court fees and expenses, and costs of legal representation. Polish law does not provide for any restrictions in this matter. 2.6 Contingency Fees Polish law does not provide for regulations or restrictions on litigation funding. Therefore, as a rule, the contingency fees due to the third-party funder are allowed and the fees are not limited. According to the professional rules binding on licensed attorneys, a success fee is allowed but it can only constitute a part of the attorney’s remuneration (not the whole remuneration). 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding Polish law does not provide for regulations or restrictions on time limits by when a party to the litigation should obtain third-party funding. The Polish court cannot impose any rules on the parties in relation to pre-action conduct. There is a requirement by law that the statement of claim includes information regarding media- tion attempts or the lack of mediation. Neither mediation nor any other pre-action conduct is compulsory. 3.2 Statutes of Limitations In Poland, different limitation periods apply depending on the nature of the claim. The gener- al period of limitation for civil claims is six years and three years for commercial claims. However, 3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-action Conduct
• a person holding a certificate of a restructur- ing adviser if the case concerns restructuring or insolvency; • a close family member; • an employee; or • a co-participant of the case. Certain matters, such as the filing of a cassation appeal and participation in cassation proceed- ings, require representation by a licensed lawyer. The foreign lawyers from the EEA countries may occasionally represent the parties in court. The foreign lawyers can also conduct a permanent practice in Poland when they obtain registration on the list of foreign lawyers. 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding Polish law does not provide for regulations or restrictions on litigation funding. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits As Polish law does not provide for regulations on litigation funding, there are no restrictions on third-party funding with respect to the type of lawsuits, matters in dispute, etc. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant As Polish law does not provide for regulations or restrictions on litigation funding, nor does it restrict the availability of funding for the claimant or for the defendant. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding Currently, Polish law does not provide any regu- lations or restrictions on the maximum amount that a third-party funder may contribute.
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