litigation | In Principle

A simplified procedure for notification of subcontractors, clarification of the rule on the investor’s objection to entrusting part of the work to a subcontractor, and limitation in the amount of the investor’s joint and several liability—all these changes are to go into effect on 1 June 2017.

Traders offering goods and services online often provide in their general terms and conditions that contracts with consumers will be governed by the law of the country there the seller has its registered office. EU law basically allows such contracts, but the choice of law must not deprive the consumer of the protection afforded him by mandatory provisions of law which would have been applicable if the contract did not contain the choice of law clause.

Under regulations in force from 15 February 2017, reopening of a civil proceeding ended in a legally final judgment can be sought within 10 years after the judgment became legally final. The previous regulations provided for a 5-year period for seeking reopening of proceedings.

This is the conclusion flowing from a non-final judgment issued by the Poznań Regional Court on 2 February 2017 in a case involving one of the largest infrastructure projects in Poland, completed in December 2016.

Losses caused by human errors should be made up. But there are fields where it is particularly difficult to obtain damages to redress mistakes.

After the end of cooperation with the principal, a commercial agent is entitled to indemnity if the agent brought “new” customers to the principal or generated a significant increase in turnover with “old” customers. But what if the customer is “old,” and the turnover hasn’t increased greatly, but the agent encouraged the customer to order goods or services it hadn’t ordered before?

The topic of liability for damages on the part of public authorities is not widely known. Many people are not aware of the extensive rights at their disposal connected with actions by bodies of public authority. Consequently, injured parties often fail to pursue redress of losses suffered in connection with public administration.

It used to be accepted that the sovereign is infallible, and questioning the correctness of the sovereign’s decisions was bound to end badly. Today, fortunately for the people, there are instruments for holding the authorities liable for their wrongful acts and omissions.

It is theoretically possible to pursue damages from the State Treasury for injury caused by violation of EU law, such as non-implementation of directives. But procedural difficulties discourage most litigants from taking this path.

The liability of public authorities for unlawful acts or omissions also extends to delay in the functioning of the courts, infringing the individual’s right to have his case heard without undue delay. A finding of excessive length of proceedings enables a party to pursue redress of the resulting loss through the courts.

An amendment to the Civil Procedure Code entered into force on 1 January 2016, raising the importance of mediation and significantly changing Poland’s mediation regulations. This will also affect the course of judicial proceedings commenced from that date forward.

This question can be answered only after determining which substantive law applies to the case. It can be a crucial issue in cross-border disputes.