How long does a court case last in Poland?
Wondering how long the proceedings may take in a Polish court and whether it is worth making a claim at all? If you have sufficient evidence to prove that your claim is well-founded, it is worth bringing the case to polish court and making your claims.
The proceedings in each country are different and there is no doubt about that. So if you assume that the case in Poland will be conducted on the same or similar principles as in your country, then unfortunately we must correct your mistake in this point.
Polish law is a specific law, depending on what your case concerns, the duration of proceedings in a Polish court are different. Generally, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice, a court case in Poland lasts about 6 months. Of course, statistics are one thing and practice is another. For example, the statistics include situations when a Polish court has issued a verdict in the style of what is called in polish law a “nakaz zapłaty”. It is unreliable because that kind of verdicts are issued rather in simple cases and if the defendant does not appeal, the case is ended – so in this case the proceedings may last even 3 months and the case will be completely finished in the court. Unfortunately, in practice the cases are often more complicated, the court will take doubts about your case and in the end the case may last even several years.
However, so as not to say some without any specifics, there are a few situations below where we can give you more or less how long your case will last and what may affect the time of its consideration:
- the nature of the case and its complexity – the number of procedural steps and actions that the court will have to take will affect the length of proceedings in your case. If the court has to hear more than a dozen witnesses, the court will be able to hear 2-3 people on average at one trial. Witnesses may also not be able to attend the hearing at which they should have been heard, which will also prolong the proceedings, as the court will have to hear them at the next hearing at a later date. Additionally, undoubtedly, if the court will have to obtain specialist information from an expert, because e.g. your case concerns a huge construction project, your case will be even longer. In such a situation, the case may be considered in the court for 2-3 years;
- which procedure the case will be referred to – in Polish law we have several procedures. Cases up to PLN 20,000 are dealt with under a simplified procedure, so the proceedings may actually be concluded even within 3 months (these are mainly cases in which the court issues the decisions referred to above, i.e. Polish “nakaz zapłaty”. It is not without reason that we give you a Polish name, you can meet it in many legal forums, because in Polish law such decisions are often issued. In Poland, you can say that a “nakaz zapłaty” = a judgment, verdict;
- at what stage will the case end – what if the opponent uses appeals? Of course, in every case the losing party may appeal, and thus the case will certainly be prolonged for several months, unfortunately we cannot do anything with it, we cannot deprive the other party of the right to appeal;
- which judge the case will be referred to – in Poland the judges are quite busy with cases, which means that before the judge starts to hear your case, it may take some time. The city in which the case is heard is also important in this respect, and in larger cities there is number of cases per judge;
- how the other party will behave – whether the opponent in your case will not deliberately prolong the proceedings. Or maybe they will accept your claim and then the case will be closed as soon as possible.
So, how long can your case last approximately?
It can be assumed that a simple case for payment of an invoice can be settled within 3-9 months. However, if your case is a complicated case, e.g. for unpaid remuneration for performed construction works, with 10 witnesses and an expert’s opinion, the duration of the proceedings is 2-3 years.
