Poland

The institution of recognition, declaration of enforceability, and enforcement of foreign judgments in Poland is subject to the regulations of the EU as well as international civil procedural law. Both the regulations of EU law and bilateral and multilateral international treaties to which Poland is a party take precedence over the provisions of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (CCP). Enforcement proceedings, separate from proceedings for a declaration of enforceability, are initiated after obtaining an enforcement clause and are conducted on the basis of the provisions of the CCP.

What are the main international treaties or conventions that apply?

Among the international agreements by which Poland is bound, the following can be mentioned:

• the Lugano Convention of 30 October 2007 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters;
• the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements; and
• bilateral treaties.

The following EU regulations also apply:

• Regulation (EC) No. 805/2004 of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims;
• Regulation (EC) No. 1896/2006 of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure;
• Regulation (EC) No. 861/2007 of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure; and
• Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Recast) (Brussels I bis).

The national procedural rules on the recognition and enforcement of certain judgments of EU Member State courts, which supplement the provisions of the above-mentioned regulations, are additionally included in the Polish CCP.

What legal principles apply if there is no applicable international treaty or convention?

If there is no applicable treaty or convention, the provisions of the CCP concerning the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments shall apply.

Foreign court judgments in civil matters are recognised by operation of law, unless there are obstacles specified in the CCP. Recognition concerns those judgments which automatically produce effects or are declaratory in nature and, therefore, do not require enforcement. Such judgments include, for example, judgments declaring a sale agreement invalid and judgments dismissing actions (also for payment).

The declaration of enforceability concerns the judgments enforced by way of enforcement. Examples of such judgments are a judgment awarding an unpaid service or a judgment prohibiting the debtor from specific unfair competition acts. A foreign court judgment may be enforced after its enforceability has been confirmed by a Polish court.

The CCP contains the prerequisites for the refusal of recognition or declaration of enforceability of a foreign judgment by a Polish court. A judgment is not subject to recognition or declaration of enforceability if:

• it shall not have the force of res judicata in the state in which it was issued;
• it was made in a case falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Polish courts;
• the defendant, who did not enter into the dispute as to the merits, was not duly served with the document instituting the proceedings in sufficient time to enable them to defend themselves;
• the party was deprived of the opportunity to defend itself during the proceedings;
• a case involving the same claim between the same parties is pending in Poland before a court of a foreign state;
• it is contrary to an earlier final and binding judgment of a Polish court or an earlier final and binding judgment of a court of a foreign state which fulfils the conditions for its recognition in Poland, made in a case involving the same claim between the same parties; or
• recognition or declaration of enforceability would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the Polish legal order (public policy clause).

There are no requirements regarding the legal basis for the jurisdiction of a foreign court or the method by which the defendant was served with the proceedings. However, if a judgment was issued in proceedings in which the defendant did not defend on the merits of the case, a document must be presented to confirm that the initial pleading has been served on the defendant.

Moreover, procedural irregularities of the court of the state of origin of the judgment, such as a violation of the adversarial principle and the right to defence, may in certain cases be assessed as violating the principle of public policy in the Republic of Poland.

There is no time limit for submitting an application for the recognition or declaration of the enforceability of a foreign judgment.

The CCP provides for several defences against the recognition/enforcement of a foreign judgment. The other party may:

• petition the court to determine whether a ruling of a foreign state court is not recognised;
• appeal a decision concerning the recognition/declaration of enforceability of a judgment; or
• file a motion to re-open the proceedings or declare the final decision issued unlawful.

The institution of the recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards made in foreign states is covered by international conventions and agreements, as well as the provisions of the Polish CCP. The provisions of the CCP in this matter give precedence to ratified international agreements, in particular the New York Convention of 10 June 1958 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”).

According to the CCP, an award made before an arbitral tribunal shall have legal effects equal to a court judgment made before the court after it is recognised or declared enforceable by the court. An arbitration award made in foreign states may be enforced after its enforceability has been confirmed by a Polish court.

A Polish court shall refuse to recognise or declare enforceable an arbitral award, in particular, if:

• under the provisions of the law, the dispute cannot be submitted to arbitration; and
• recognition or enforcement of the arbitral award would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the Polish legal order (public policy clause).

Additionally, the court shall, at the request of a party, refuse to recognise or declare enforceable an arbitral award issued abroad if the party demonstrates that:

• there was no arbitration clause, or the arbitration clause is null and void, ineffective or voidable under the law applicable to it;
• they were not duly notified of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings, or were otherwise deprived of the opportunity to defend their rights before the arbitration tribunal;
• the arbitral award concerns a dispute that is not covered by the arbitration clause or falls outside the scope of the arbitration clause;
• the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the proceedings before it were not in conformity with the agreement of the parties or, in the absence of an agreement to that effect, were not in conformity with the law of the state in which the arbitral tribunal proceedings were conducted; or
• the arbitral award has not yet become binding on the parties or has been set aside or its enforcement has been suspended by a court in or under the law of the state in which the award was rendered.

A final court decision on the recognition or enforcement of a foreign arbitral award may be appealed against by way of a cassation appeal. It is also possible to request the reopening of proceedings concluded by a final decision on recognition or enforcement and to request a declaration of the illegality of a final decision issued in this regard.

Recognition and declaration of enforcement of a foreign judgment

Jurisdiction

The regional court has jurisdiction over the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In case of:

• The recognition of the foreign judgment — the regional court which would have territorial jurisdiction to hear the case decided by the foreign court or in whose region the district court has territorial jurisdiction, or in the absence thereof, by the Regional Court in Warsaw.
• The declaration of enforceability — the regional court of the place of residence or registered office of the debtor, and in the absence of such a court, by the regional court in whose district the enforcement is to be carried out.

Application

The formal requirements of the application for a declaration of enforceability and the application for the recognition of the foreign judgment are similar. Both applications must be accompanied by:

• an official copy of the judgment;
• a document stating that the judgment has become final unless the finality of the judgment is apparent from its contents;
• if the judgment was given in proceedings in which the defendant did not enter the litigation as to the merits, a document establishing that the document instituting the proceedings has been served on the defendant; and
• a certified translation into Polish of the above-mentioned documents.

In addition, the application for a declaration of enforceability should include a document stating that the judgment is enforceable in the state of origin unless enforceability is derived from the content of the judgment or the law of that state.

Costs

The fee for the above applications is fixed at PLN 300 (approximately EUR 70).

As a rule, in the Polish civil procedure, the losing party reimburses the winning party for the necessary costs of the proceedings. Thus, if the application is granted, the applicant may recover these costs.

Additional costs in such a case will be the costs of legal representation, and stamp duty on a power of attorney in the amount of PLN 17 or approximately EUR 4 (if the applicant is represented by a professional representative), as well as necessary costs of translation of annexes to the application.

Duration

The duration of the proceedings depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case and whether the other parties will actively participate in fighting the application. Whether the opposing parties decide to appeal also has a key impact on the prolongation of the proceedings. Due to the significant caseload of the Polish courts, the time limits for hearing appeals are also relatively long and can extend to one to two years or more. Consequently, the duration of the proceedings may be several years in total.

Recognition and declaration of enforcement of a foreign arbitration award

Jurisdiction

The application shall be heard by the appellate court on whose territory the court that would have had jurisdiction to hear the case if the parties had not made an arbitration clause is located, and in the absence of such grounds, by the Appellate Court in Warsaw.

Application

An application must be accompanied by:

• the original or a copy certified by the arbitral tribunal of its award;
• the original arbitration clause or an officially certified copy thereof; and
• a certified translation into Polish of these documents (which are not in Polish).

Costs

An application for recognition or declaration of enforceability of an arbitral award is subject to a fixed court fee of PLN 300 (approximately EUR 70).

Additional costs will be the costs of legal representation, and stamp duty on a power of attorney in the amount of PLN 17 (approximately EUR 4; if the applicant is represented by a professional representative), as well as necessary costs of translation of annexes to the application.

Duration

The duration of proceedings can vary considerably depending on a number of factors. In practice, these proceedings usually last from several months to several years. The exact duration of the proceedings depends not only on the caseload of the court, but also on the complexity of the case and the approach of the opponent, that is, whether they will use means of appeal, as well as (in the case of arbitral awards rendered in Poland) whether they will file an action to set aside the award. In the latter case, the court deciding on the recognition or declaration of enforceability may postpone the hearing of the case.

In simple cases, where all documents have been properly submitted with the application and the opposing party does not challenge the decision made, the proceedings can be concluded within a few months to a year. In more complex cases, especially where the opposing party challenges the decision made, the process can take from a year to even several years.

As previously mentioned, the decision of the regional court on recognition/enforcement of the foreign judgment may be appealed. Filing an appeal prevents the decision on recognition/enforcement of the foreign judgment from becoming final. Enforcement based on the judgment cannot be carried out until the recognition proceedings are finally concluded.

The party may also lodge a cassation appeal against a final decision of the court of appeal.

The decision on the recognition or enforcement of a foreign arbitral award is not subject to appeal, but a cassation appeal may be lodged with the Supreme Court. The filing of a cassation appeal does not prevent enforcement.

After enforcement proceedings have been initiated on the basis of a judgment bearing an enforcement clause, enforcement shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of the CCP.

If the debtor’s assets seized in enforcement proceedings are unlikely to satisfy the enforced claims, or if the creditor proves that as a result of the enforcement proceedings they have not obtained full satisfaction of his claim, they may demand that the debtor submit a list of assets. The debtor shall submit the list under penalty of criminal liability for submitting false statements.

The creditor may also request disclosure of property details before commencement of execution if:

• they prove that they cannot satisfy their entire claim from the property known to them or from the current periodic benefits due to the debtor for the period of six months; or
• after acquisition of an enforceable title, they ordered the debtor to pay the debt confirmed thereby by registered letter against acknowledgement of receipt, and the debtor fails to make the payment within 14 days from the day of delivery of the payment order.

In Poland, interim measures are not applied at the enforcement stage — in principle, there is no need for this, as the enforcement authority (usually a bailiff, in exceptional cases a court) acts by enforcing the debt against the assets. As part of the enforcement proceedings, the debtor’s assets are seized. The seizure limits the debtor’s ability to dispose of the assets.

It should be noted that the CCP provides that a decision to enforce a foreign judgment constitutes a security title until such security becomes final. Security is granted at the request of the creditor. This institution is a form of protection for the creditor at a time when they cannot yet initiate enforcement proceedings. Once the decision to grant an enforcement clause becomes final, the creditor may initiate enforcement proceedings.

Polish enforcement authorities have jurisdiction only within the territory of Poland and may enforce judgments against assets located within its territory. As a rule, enforcement is carried out by the bailiff competent for the place of residence or registered office of the debtor. The CCP provides for exceptions to this rule; for example, enforcement against real estate may be carried out by a bailiff operating in the area where the real estate is located.

Bank accounts

The basic method of enforcing claims from a debtor’s bank account is for a bailiff to seize the debtor’s monetary claims held in the bank account.

Shares

The bailiff seizes the share, then an expert appraises its value. The creditor is satisfied from the income or from the realisation or sale of the shares.

Debts due to the judgment debtor from third parties

The debtor’s receivables are also subject to enforcement. The bailiff may proceed to seize them and make appropriate entries in the land and mortgage register (if applicable). The creditor may be satisfied, inter alia, through the sale of receivables.

Real estate

As a result of the creditor’s request to initiate enforcement proceedings against the property specified in the request, the bailiff summons the debtor to pay the debt within two weeks, under pain of proceeding with the description and valuation. The creditor is satisfied from the income from the property or from the sale of the property by the bailiff.

Movable property

In enforcement proceedings, the bailiff seizes the debtor’s movable property, estimates its value, and proceeds to sell it (by private sale or at a bailiff’s auction).

No, as a rule, enforcement is carried out against the assets legally owned by debtor. However, if the debtor disposes of assets in order to harm the creditor, the creditor may be entitled to bring an action for fraudulent conveyance (an action to declare the transaction ineffective in relation to him/her).

As a rule, enforcement is carried out against the debtor’s assets. For example, if a given item is jointly owned by the debtor and other persons, enforcement is carried out against a fractional part of the item (belonging to the debtor).