The Polish Judicial System For Ukrainian Citizens

In the absence of specific supranational regulations, such as acts of European Union law or international treaties to which Poland is a party, cases examined in civil proceedings fall within the jurisdiction of Polish courts if, in a given case, one of the three basic jurisdictional connecting factors listed in Article 1103 of the Code of Civil Procedure occurs, where the defendant has:

– a place of residence, or
– a place of habitual stay, or
– a registered office (in the case of legal persons)

in the Republic of Poland.

This applies to all types of cases examined in contentious proceedings, i.e. both pecuniary and non-pecuniary cases. The determination of the existence of individual jurisdictional connecting factors in a given case is made on the basis of Polish law.

Place of residence of the defendant

The first of the connecting factors listed in Article 1103 is the defendant’s place of residence in Poland. Pursuant to Article 25 of the Civil Code, the place of residence of a natural person is understood as the locality in which that person stays with the intention of permanent residence.

According to the established view in legal doctrine, the concept of place of residence contains two elements which must occur jointly:

– an objective element, i.e. permanent stay in a given locality, and
– a subjective element, i.e. an expressed intention or will of such stay.

The assessment of a person’s place of residence requires taking into account both objective circumstances, such as the place of actual settlement or life activity of a given person, and subjective circumstances, i.e. the intention of permanent residence, remaining in a given place.

Place of habitual stay

The second connecting factor listed in Article 1103, more important from the point of view of Ukrainian citizens, is the defendant’s place of habitual stay in Poland.

This concept has not been defined either in the Code of Civil Procedure or in the Civil Code; nevertheless, it is assumed to mean a factual state consisting in a person staying in a specific place on a permanent basis, having features of stability, and not merely incidental or temporary.

In legal doctrine, it is indicated that this place may be understood as one in which a person usually stays due to personal and professional ties, indicating the existence of close links between that person and the given place.

Citizenship and jurisdiction

Both in the case of the first and the second connecting factor, the defendant’s citizenship is irrelevant; therefore, foreigners may also be sued before Polish courts, provided that they have a place of residence or a place of habitual stay in the Republic of Poland.

Both connecting factors are treated equally, and for the acceptance of the domestic jurisdiction of a Polish court it is sufficient to establish the existence of only one of them.

Ukrainian citizens before Polish courts

As a consequence of the adoption of these rules by the Polish legal system, Ukrainian citizens who live in Poland de facto appear before Polish courts on the same principles as Polish citizens, as they may, having legal capacity, both bring actions and – as presented above – be sued.

Legal assistance

The Law Firm provides legal assistance to Ukrainian citizens within the full scope of its services.