The statute of limitations is a familiar concept to anyone involved in business transactions. In fact, it is one of the most important institutions of Polish civil law – according to Article 117 § 2 of the Polish Civil Code (pol. kodeks cywilny), a party entitled to a claim can, after the expiry of the limitation period, evade fulfilling that claim unless they waive the defense of limitation.

In this context, two further terms are important: suspension and interruption of the limitation period. Suspension means that the limitation period does not begin to run and the limitation period that has already begun is interrupted (pursuant to Article 121 of the Polish Civil Code), while interruption of the limitation period – as the name suggests – interrupts the limitation period and allows it to begin anew (Article 123 § 1 in conjunction with Article 124 § 1 of the Polish Civil Code).

A comparison attempt in the old version

For many years, a summons to attempt settlement was an effective means of interrupting the statute of limitations in Poland. It was generally accepted that this constituted a legal transaction serving to enforce an existing claim – therefore, the statute of limitations was interrupted by a corresponding application to the competent court, pursuant to Article 123 § 1 Paragraph 1 of the Polish Civil Code. Unfortunately, there were too many abuses of this system by dishonest creditors.
For this reason, high fees were introduced – the fixed fee of PLN 40.00 was increased to one-fifth of the court fee for filing a lawsuit.
Furthermore, case law established that only the first summons to attempt settlement interrupts the running of the statute of limitations, while a second does not, or not in every case.

Amended regulations regarding the load for the comparative test

The amendment to the Polish Civil Code, enacted on December 2, 2021, changed the legal provisions regarding summonses to attempt conciliation and the associated interruption of the limitation period for a claim.
Specifically, the amendment stipulated in Article 121, paragraph 6 of the Polish Civil Code that a summons to attempt conciliation does not interrupt the limitation period, but only suspends it for the duration of the conciliation proceedings. This means that the limitation period resumes after the conciliation hearing, rather than from the beginning as before.

What do the changes mean for the applicant who wishes to assert a claim?

If a summons for a settlement attempt is issued on the last day of the limitation period – which has usually been the case because the creditor forgot about the deadline – the limitation period expires on the day after the hearing in which the parties do not reach a settlement (which is the case in most instances). This means that creditors must keep a close eye on the limitation periods.

The introduced amendment to the law unfortunately presents a further complication for creditors. As the legislator stated in the explanatory memorandum to the proposed amendments, “(...) undoubtedly contradicts the very nature of the institution of limitation, the purpose of which is to stabilize legal relationships, ensure the security of legal transactions, mobilize the creditor to promptly assert their rights, and ultimately protect the debtor from a state of uncertainty regarding the existence of an excessively long-lasting obligation.” However, the ruling of the Polish Supreme Court (Polish: Sąd Najwyższy) of May 17, 2019, was not taken into account. This ruling explicitly stated that it is the court's responsibility to determine whether the summons to attempt settlement negotiations was intended to facilitate the actual assertion of claims or merely to artificially interrupt the limitation period.

Entry into force of the changes regarding the charge for the comparative test

According to Article 12 of the Act Amending the Polish Civil Code, the amendments in question entered into force six months after their promulgation. This means that the introduced provisions apply from June 30, 2022.

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For questions regarding the interruption of the statute of limitations and attempts at settlement in accordance with Polish legal regulations, please contact us by email at kontakt@kancelaria-pozniak.pl or by phone at +48 665 246 969 .