In September, new amendments were finally introduced in Poland to the Act on the Protection of the Rights of Purchasers of Residential Units or Single-Family Homes and on the Developers’ Guarantee Fund. The aim of these amendments is to close a legal loophole resulting from the lack of a precise definition of the developer’s liability for physical and legal defects in the case of a development agreement regulated by this Act.
September also brought changes to the regulations governing criminal proceedings, including the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Law on the System of Common Courts, the Code of Petty Offense Procedure, and the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office.
The main goal of these amendments is to expedite and streamline criminal and petty offense proceedings and reduce the costs of service in these cases by expanding access to electronic forms of service of procedural documents and other documents. The changes are primarily intended to facilitate two-way electronic communication between parties and common courts in criminal and petty offense proceedings, expanding the capabilities of the information portal.
The amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure specifically included:
- introducing regulations regarding the possibility of submitting documents to the court by posting their content on an information portal, enabling the party submitting the document to obtain an electronic document confirming the filing of the document. Documents submitted in this manner are included in the case file. Procedural documents submitted via the information portal will be affixed with a qualified electronic signature, a trusted signature, or a personal signature, and in the case of a prosecutor, also with an advanced electronic signature issued by the relevant organizational units of the prosecutor’s office. Documents attached to a procedural document submitted via the information portal by a defense attorney or attorney will also be affixed with a qualified electronic signature, a trusted signature, or a personal signature. If a document is submitted by posting its content on the information portal, it is deemed to have been submitted at the time indicated in the electronic confirmation of filing. The procedure and method for electronically filing procedural documents via the information portal will be specified in a new regulation, subject in particular to the following provisions.
- Introduction of provisions requiring defense attorneys and attorneys to provide their entry number on the appropriate list of attorneys or legal counsels.
- Introduction of provisions regarding the possibility of the court serving judgments and decisions by posting their content on the information portal
- Introduction of the possibility of the court serving procedural documents and other documents also on the party that chose this method of service
- Introduction of provisions under which documents served by posting their content on the information portal are deemed to have been served within the time specified in the document confirming service. In the absence of such a document, service is deemed effective after 14 days from the date of posting the content on the information portal. However, if the entity designated to receive procedural documents via the information portal does not have an account on the information portal, service is deemed to have been effected 14 days after the content of the document is posted on the information portal in a manner enabling the sender and recipient to obtain confirmation of delivery;
The ability for a prosecutor, defense attorney, or legal counsel, and the Prosecutor General to submit a request via the information portal for the preparation and delivery of a written justification of a judgment, appeal, response to an appeal, and further documents in appellate proceedings has been introduced, with the proviso that this option does not apply to the filing of a cassation appeal;
Changes have also been introduced to the Code of Petty Offense Procedure, including in particular:
– provisions concerning the ability of a prosecutor, defense attorney, or legal counsel to file an appeal and further documents in appellate proceedings, as well as complaints by posting their content on the information portal
During the period under review, changes similar to those discussed above were also introduced in the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC). These changes also aim to enhance the technical capabilities of the information portal, increase the use of mediation in civil proceedings, and clarify the status of sole proprietorships concluding contracts as part of their business activities in the context of the application of consumer protection provisions based on the Civil Code and the Consumer Rights Act.
The changes introduced in the Code of Civil Procedure are intended to utilize the information portal as a tool.
The newly added Article 1251 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure establishes the principle that the obligation to submit documents to the court via the information portal is updated in situations where a specific provision so provides, and filing a procedural document via the electronic system is not possible. Pursuant to § 2 of this provision, the obligation to submit procedural documents via the information portal rests with attorneys, legal counselors, patent attorneys, the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland, and prosecutors. These provisions will not apply to documents submitted to the Supreme Court or to documents submitted in land and mortgage register and registration proceedings. Submitting a procedural document requiring the use of the information portal via another method, submitting other procedural documents via the information portal in cases not regulated by the Code of Civil Procedure, or submitting a procedural document by an unauthorized person will have no legal consequences.
Amendments to the Civil Code (CC) and the Consumer Rights Act clarify the status of entrepreneurs who are natural persons entering into contracts within the scope of their business activities, in the context of the application of consumer protection provisions.
The previous wording of Article 3855 of the CC provided for the application of the consumer protection provisions contained in Articles 3851–3853 of the CC to entrepreneurs who are natural persons when the contract directly related to their business activity is not of a professional nature for them. Because determining the nature of the contract involved significant contractual risks and litigation, the amended Article 3855 § 11 of the CC introduces a mechanism enabling entrepreneurs who are natural persons to determine the nature of the contract by submitting an appropriate declaration. At the same time, the provision introduces a safeguard against potential abuses by prohibiting the other party from making the conclusion of the contract conditional on the submission of such a declaration.
The provisions of the Act on Court Fees in Civil Cases have also been amended. The changes, firstly, halved the maximum court fee for filing a claim in property rights cases where the value of the subject matter of the dispute or appeal exceeds PLN 20,000 (from PLN 200,000 to PLN 100,000). Secondly, the requirement for partners/shareholders of limited liability companies to demonstrate a lack of sufficient financial resources to increase the company’s assets or grant a loan to the company as a condition for exemption from court fees was abolished (this requirement still applies to partners in partnerships).
In September, amendments to the Public Procurement Law and the Act on Concession Contracts for Construction Works or Services were introduced. These changes stem from the need to implement the following legal acts into Polish law:
1) Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC;
2) Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC.
The amendments also reflect the effects of the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Cases C-652/22 Kolin Inşaat Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret and C-266/22 CRRC Qingdao Sifang and Others.
The main objective of the amendment is to implement into Polish law provisions ensuring equal treatment in access to the public procurement market for economic operators from European Union Member States and countries that are parties to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Public Procurement, to which the European Union is a party.
In September, the Consular Law was amended, allowing Polish consuls to issue a standardized EU Emergency Travel Document (ETD). These changes result from Poland’s implementation of two directives:
1. Council Directive (EU) 2019/997 of 18 June 2019 on the establishment of an EU Emergency Travel Document and repealing Decision 96/409/CFSP;
2. Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2024/1986 of 6 May 2024 amending Council Directive (EU) 2019/997 as regards the machine-readable zone of the EU Emergency Travel Document.
The issuance of an EU Emergency Travel Document will constitute one type of consular assistance that diplomatic missions and consular posts of Member States may provide to unrepresented EU citizens in third countries (outside the EU). An unrepresented EU citizen is a citizen of an EU Member State who does not have an embassy or consulate permanently established in the territory of the host non-EU Member State or where there is no embassy, consulate or honorary consul who could actually provide consular protection in a given case.
Amendments to the Act on Investment Funds and the Management of Alternative Investment Funds also entered into force this month. These changes consisted, firstly, of lowering the threshold required for the adoption of a resolution by the general meeting of investors approving the merger of closed-end investment funds managed by the same management company. According to the amendment, approval will be granted if participants representing a total of more than half of the total number of investment certificates in a given fund voted in favor of the merger. Previously, approval was granted if participants representing a total of at least two-thirds of the total number of investment certificates in a given fund voted in favor of the merger. Secondly, the amendment regulated situations in which participants representing no more than half of the total number of investment certificates in a given fund voted in the first round of voting.
In September, the Act on the Certification of Public Procurement Contractors was passed. It specifies the principles for: a. Certification of public procurement contractors, hereinafter referred to as „certification,” including the scope, conditions, and procedure for its granting, as well as its validity period; b. use of the public procurement contractor’s certificate, hereinafter referred to as the „certificate”; c. collection of certification data in an IT system, including data on issued certificates, and rules for accessing this data; d. accreditation of entities granting certification, hereinafter referred to as „certifying entities.” Certification will enable contractors to confirm that they are not subject to exclusion from public procurement procedures and that they have the capacity to properly perform such contracts. Contractors will be able to invoke and use the certification in many different procedures, without the need to collect and submit documents each time. Contractors will be able to apply for and use the certification during the procedure on a voluntary basis. The Act does not impose a certification obligation. Certification will be granted at the contractor’s request for a period of 1 to 3 years.
The main goal of the amendment to the Banking Law and certain other acts, introduced in September, is to enable banks and savings and credit unions to obtain information from the Universal Electronic System for Registration of the Population (PESEL) in the event of an account holder’s death, including the date of death or the date the body was found. The act aims to more effectively address the problem of „dormant deposits” and expedite the process of disbursing funds to heirs.
