Foreign entrepreneurs are engaging in business relations in Poland and with Polish entities more and more often. Naturally, some of these relations end up in court, due to various reasons. Such disputes cannot always be settled outside Poland and in the court of the place of business of the foreign party. Consequently, the Polish legal system, and in particular the procedural law, should be explained.
Poland is a member of the European Union and various international organizations. It has adopted numerous international and bilateral agreements, in particular those relating to human rights; it is a democratic state of law. Therefore, its legal system does not differ in its basic features from other legal systems of developed states. Nevertheless, each legal system is different in its particularities.
This publication is aimed at allowing foreign parties to become more familiar with Polish court proceedings. It explains the basic institutions of the Polish Act of November 17, 1964 – Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”). Most of the issues will be presented from two perspectives – of the party pursuing its rights and the party defending its rights.