Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Warsaw. Since 2008, Member of the Office for Studies and Analyses, Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland. Attorney at law (not practising).
This article analyses the case law in Poland on matters of the return of children wrongfully remo... more This article analyses the case law in Poland on matters of the return of children wrongfully removed or retained within the framework of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction during the period of the “populist” government (2020–2022). It takes account of the legislative and judicial developments in the EU and the European Court of Human Rights and of the aims of the Hague Convention. It seeks to ascertain whether the influence of populist reforms and politicisation of the courts has become apparent in the case law of the Polish Supreme Court on international child abduction cases.
Wyrok w sprawie C-350/14, Lazar, dotyczy wskazania prawa właściwego dla zadośćuczynienia dla osób... more Wyrok w sprawie C-350/14, Lazar, dotyczy wskazania prawa właściwego dla zadośćuczynienia dla osób bliskich ofiary wypadku drogowego. Ustalona w nim wykładnia art. 4 rozporządzenia rzymskiego II 1 opiera się na założeniu, że do tej kwestii, zasadniczo tak samo jak do wszystkich aspektów danego zdarzenia, należy zastosować jedno i to samo prawo, wskazane łącznikiem miejsca wystąpienia szkody bezpośredniej-poniesionej przez główną ofiarę (lex loci damni directi). Uszczerbek poniesiony przez osoby bliskie zakwalifikowano zatem jako skutki pośrednie tego zdarzenia w rozumieniu art. 4 ust. 1 rozporządzenia. Takie podejście nie jest wprawdzie niekontrowersyjne, zważywszy na wyraźną odrębność naruszenia dóbr osobistych członków rodziny osoby pierwotnie poszkodowanej; zapewnia ono jednak pożądaną jednolitość reżimu prawnego, który ma zastosowanie do oceny prawnej wypadku wywołującego odpowiedzialność cywilną sprawcy. Z tego punktu widzenia udzieloną odpowiedź, niezależnie od różnych zastrzeżeń, należy ostatecznie uznać za słuszną. W sprawach roszczeń z tytułu wypadków drogowych wyrok ma istotny walor również dla sądów orzekających w tych państwach członkowskich, które-tak jak chociażby Polska-stosują konwencję haską o prawie właściwym dla wypadków drogowych. --- The judgment in case C-350/14, Lazar, concerns determination of the law applicable to compensation for the relatives of the victim of a road traffic accident. The interpretation of Article 4 of the Rome II Regulation given in the judgment is based on the assumption that in principle this issue should – just as all aspects of a given event – be governed by the one and same law, determined by the connecting factor of the place of the direct damage suffered by the main victim (lex loci damni directi). In other words, the damage suffered by relatives has been characterized as indirect consequences of that event within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the Regulation. Admittedly, such an attitude is not uncontroversial, given the distinct character of the violation of personality rights of the family members of the originally aggrieved person; however, it ensures the desired uniformity of the legal regime applicable to the legal assessment of the accident giving rise to the tortfeasor’s civil liability. From this point of view, the answer, notwithstanding the various objections, should ultimately be regarded as correct. In cases of claims arising from road traffic accidents, the judgment is also of great value to courts adjudicating in those Member States which – like Poland – are bound by the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Traffic Accidents.
Prezentowany wyrok Trybunału Sprawiedliwości w sprawie C-135/15, Nikiforidis dotyczy funkcji speł... more Prezentowany wyrok Trybunału Sprawiedliwości w sprawie C-135/15, Nikiforidis dotyczy funkcji spełnianej przez zagraniczne przepisy wymuszające swoje zastosowanie na tle jednego z podstawowych aktów europejskiego prawa prywatnego międzynarodowego: rozporządzenia rzymskiego I. Może on wzbudzać zainteresowanie szerszego kręgu odbiorców przynajmniej z dwóch powodów: po pierwsze, z uwagi na zawarte w nim wskazówki odnośnie do jednolitej i autonomicznej wykładni przepisów prawa wtórnego w ramach przestrzeni wolności, bezpieczeństwa i sprawiedliwości; po drugie zaś-ze względu na ukazanie w nim zaskakujących powiązań między prawem kolizyjnym a przepisami realizującymi cele ochrony stabilności fiskalnej w strefie euro. Restrykcyjną wykładnię art. 9 ust. 3 rozporządzenia rzymskiego I, której dokonał Trybunał, na pierwszy rzut oka podważa wprowadzenie "tylnymi drzwiami" możliwości uwzględniania przepisów wymuszających państw trzecich, innych niż państwo wykonania umowy, jako okoliczności faktycznej. Pozorny dysonans w stanowisku Trybunału można wyjaśnić koniecznością pogodzenia litery kompromisu legislacyjnego, jaki legł u podstaw art. 9 rozporządzenia rzymskiego I, z drugiej zaś strony świadomością wspólnych interesów finansowych państw strefy euro. ---- The discussed judgment of the Court of Justice in the case C-135/15, Nikiforidis concerns the function fulfilled by foreign overriding mandatory provisions in the light of one of the basic instruments of European private international law: the Rome I Regulation. It may arouse the interest of a wider audience for at least two reasons: firstly, because it provides guidance on the uniform and autonomous interpretation of EU secondary legislation within the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; and secondly, due to the fact that it reveals surprising links between the conflict of laws and the regulations pursuing the objectives of protecting fiscal stability in the Eurozone. A restrictive interpretation by the Court of Justice of Article 9(3) of the Rome I Regulation has at first glance been undermined through a backdoor introduction of a possibility of taking into account, as a matter of fact, of overriding mandatory provisions of third countries other than the place of performance. The apparent dissonance in the Court of Justice’s position can be explained by the necessity to reconcile the letter of the legislative compromise that underlies the whole Article 9 of the Rome I Regulation on the one hand, and, on the other hand, awareness of the common financial interests of the Member States belonging to the Eurozone.
Opracowanie obejmuje omówienie wyroku TS z 10.12.2015 r., C-594/14, Kornhaas. Ustalono w nim dopu... more Opracowanie obejmuje omówienie wyroku TS z 10.12.2015 r., C-594/14, Kornhaas. Ustalono w nim dopuszczalność dochodzenia roszczeń przeciwko zarządcy niewypłacalnej spółki o zwrot nienależnie dokonanych płatności w oparciu o prawo obowiązujące w państwie, w którym znajduje się główny ośrodek jej podstawowej działalności, zgodnie z normą kolizyjną rozporządzenia nr 1346/2000 z 29.05.2000 r. w sprawie postępowania upadłościowego (obecnie zastąpionego rozporządzeniem nr 2015/848). Odpowiedź Trybunału, przychylna kwalifikacji odpowiedzialności piastunów funkcji zarządu spółki do zakresu statutu upadłościo-wego, na pierwszy rzut oka stanowi odstępstwo od wcześniejszego orzecznictwa (zwłaszcza w sprawach C-208/00, Überseering oraz C-167/01, Inspire Art); staje się jednak bardziej zrozumiała w kontekście zjawiska określanego jako "arbitraż regulacyjny" w unijnym prawie spółek. Słabością wyroku jest niewątpliwie brak ogólnych wskazówek odnośnie do kolizyjnoprawnej kwalifikacji podobnych roszczeń w razie niewypłacalności spółki, jeżeli związek z jej ewentualną ostateczną upadłością nie jest bezpośredni; wszystko to pozwala sądzić, że w przyszłości wspomniane kwestie będą wymagały dalszego doprecyzowania. ------- The paper discusses the CJEU judgment of 10 December 2015, C-594/14, Kornhaas. It established the admissibility of pursuing claims against the director of an insolvent company for reimbursement of wrongful payments under the law in force in a country where its center of main interests (COMI) is located, pursuant to the conflict-of-law rule of the Council Regulation No. 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings (now replaced by the Regulation No. 2015/848). The Court’s answer, favoring the characterization of the liability of the company’s management within the scope of the law applicable to insolvency, at first glance deviates from previous case law (especially judgments in C-208/00, Überseering and C-167/01, Inspire Art); however, it becomes more understandable in the context of what is known as “regulatory arbitration” within the EU company law. The weakness of the judgment is undoubtedly the lack of general guidelines regarding the conflict-of-law characterization of similar claims in cases of the company’s insolvency, if the connection with its possible final bankruptcy is only indirect; all of this suggests that in the future the above-mentioned issues will require further clarification.
Comment on the judgment of the Court of Justice (Third Chamber) of 12 November 2014, C-656/13, L ... more Comment on the judgment of the Court of Justice (Third Chamber) of 12 November 2014, C-656/13, L v M: Reference for a preliminary ruling — Area of freedom, security and justice — Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility — Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 — Article 12(3) — Child whose parents are not married — Prorogation of jurisdiction — No other related proceedings pending — Acceptance of jurisdiction — Challenge to the jurisdiction of a court by a party who has made an application to that court.
The article takes up the difficult problem of the so-called disobedience of judges against the ba... more The article takes up the difficult problem of the so-called disobedience of judges against the background of the experiences of the Polish departure from constitutional democracy in 2015-2020. The special role and responsibility of a judge in the state imposes restrictions on her freedom of opinion in the public sphere. Openly manifesting opposition to government policy, which in the case of an ordinary citizen is only the implementation of human rights and freedoms, may be described as controversial and contrary to applicable ethical regulations. The main thesis of this paper is the assertion that although judges who act as impartial arbitrators in disputes should generally refrain from ostentatiously opposing the actions of political authorities, they are not deprived of the possibility of protest. Also in the exercise of office, and not outside the sphere of their duties, judges should take into account overriding moral values that should be implemented by the legal order, and not the values or declarations guiding the government policies. The integrity of the judge, which prescribes restraint in statements and actions in the public sphere, as well as the care for the dignity of the office held, should not be confused with absolute subordination to the legislature or the executive, even if the judge is obliged to apply the law. The traditional attitude of the members of the judiciary, consisting in focusing only on the application of the law in individual cases and the lack of any political involvement, is being reviewed in the face of the spread of majoritarianism and the law abuse as normal techniques of exercising public authority. The disobedience of judges-although difficult to defend at first sight-may seem to be the only possible way to draw public attention to the corruption of the state system. The 'disobedient' judges can even be assigned the role of 'whistleblowers', which should help to ease their legal liability or their future rehabilitation.
Weltbürgerliches Recht - Festschrift für Michael Martinek zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. S. Omlor, 2020
Two judgments: of the Polish Supreme Court of 17 September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets for EURO 2... more Two judgments: of the Polish Supreme Court of 17 September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets for EURO 2012 Championship) and of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 28.7.2016 in case C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation v Amazon EU Sàrl, cast some light on the role of choice of law in consumer contracts. They show the unequivocally wrong decision of the European legislator to make the choice of law for contractual obligations the main connecting factor for consumer contracts in the conflict of laws. The view of the Polish Supreme Court, although at first glance very far from the letter of EU law, in fact confirms that the choice of law clause in general terms of contracts may raise doubts as to its compliance with Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in consumer contracts. In this context, the objections of the Court of Justice of the EU to the effectiveness of the choice of law set out in the VKI judgment become clearer. Generally speaking, requiring the court to construe the content of the obligation under the consumer contract on the basis of the "legal mix" of provisions most favorable to the consumer, undermines legal certainty and the effectiveness of the judicial protection in the internal market. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dwa wyroki: polskiego Sądu Najwyższego RP z 17 września 2014 r., I CSK 555/13 ("Bilety na Mistrzostwa EURO 2012") oraz Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej z dnia 28 lipca 2016 r. W sprawie C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation przeciwko Amazon EU Sàrl, rzucają nieco światła na rolę wyboru prawa dla umów konsumenckich. Wskazują one na jednoznacznie błędną decyzję europejskiego prawodawcy, zgodnie z którą wybór prawa dla zobowiązań umownych pozostaje głównym łącznikiem umów konsumenckich w prawie kolizyjnym. Stanowisko polskiego Sądu Najwyższego, choć na pierwszy rzut oka bardzo odległe od litery prawa unijnego, faktycznie potwierdza, że klauzula wyboru prawa w ogólnych warunkach umów może budzić wątpliwości co do jej zgodności z dyrektywą 93/13 o nieuczciwych warunkach w umowach konsumenckich. W tym kontekście zastrzeżenia Trybunału Sprawiedliwości UE co do skuteczności wyboru prawa, wyrażone w wyroku w sprawie VKI, stają się jaśniejsze. Ogólnie rzecz biorąc, wymaganie od sądu ustalenia treści zobowiązania wynikającego z umowy konsumenckiej w oparciu o „prawny miks” przepisów najbardziej korzystnych dla konsumenta podważa pewność prawa i skuteczność ochrony sądowej na rynku wewnętrznym. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zwei Urteile: des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs vom 17. September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets für die EURO 2012-Meisterschaft) und des Gerichtshofs der Europäischen Union vom 28.7.2016 in der Rs. C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation ./. Amazon EU Sàrl beleuchten die Rolle der Rechtswahl in Verbraucherverträgen. Sie zeigen die eindeutig falsche Entscheidung des europäischen Gesetzgebers, die Rechtswahl für vertragliche Verpflichtungen zum Hauptanknüpfung für Verbraucherverträge im IPR zu machen. Die Ansicht des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs, obwohl auf den ersten Blick sehr weit vom Buchstaben des EU-Rechts entfernt, bestätigt tatsächlich, dass die Rechtswahlklausel in AGB Zweifel an der Einhaltung der Richtlinie 93/13 über mißbräuchliche Klauseln in Verbraucherverträgen aufkommen lassen kann. In diesem Zusammenhang werden die im VKI-Urteil dargelegten Einwände des EuGH gegen die Wirksamkeit der Rechtswahl deutlicher. Im Allgemeinen untergräbt die Forderung von einem Gericht, den Inhalt der Verpflichtung aus dem Verbrauchervertrag auf der Grundlage des für den Verbraucher günstigsten "Rechtsmix" von Bestimmungen zu konstruieren, die Rechtssicherheit und die Effektivität des Rechtsschutzes im Binnenmarkt .
Pilich, Mateusz: Private international law facing the challenges of today: Migrations and multice... more Pilich, Mateusz: Private international law facing the challenges of today: Migrations and multicentricity
The article discusses issues that are fundamental to shaping the future of private international law: the phenomenon of migration and the so-called multicentricity of creation and application of law. The subject matter of the discussion is the evolution of Savigny’s classical paradigm of private international law as an “arbitrator” between the legal systems of nation states. Modern migrations are characterized by multidirectional population flows and decreasing stability of links between a person and a specific territory; in turn, multicentricity entails the obligation to constantly reconcile various legal rules coming from various law-making centres. The author does not question the advantages of Karl Friedrich von Savigny’s concept, but considers it necessary to reconcile it with the increasingly complicated and eclectic structure of private international law in the first half of the 21st century. The concept of the so-called sovereignty of an individual – an increased importance of individual values at the expense of collective, nation-wide or general public values – causes significant confusion about the concept of “conflict-of-law justice” based on the idea of a “spatially better” law, that is, the closest connection between law and a particular case. Such a specific concept, when confronted with increasingly complex legal structures of today’s world, is experiencing a significant crisis. The term “law of conflict” ceases to be reserved for private international law only, just as conflicts of laws cease to arise only at cross-border level. The solution might consist in turning back to the doctrine of natural law and thus departing from a strictly positivist vision of conflict-law as a finite set of simple rules used to attribute relations to relevant national law systems. Although international private law will certainly not forget about von Savigny, we can assume that it no longer belongs to his legacy.
Relations between the judiciary and the elected authorities (i.e. the legislative and the executi... more Relations between the judiciary and the elected authorities (i.e. the legislative and the executive) in each country and at all times are among the most sensitive from the point of view of statehood. The present paper undertakes a problem of the constitutional backsliding in Poland in and after 2015. It briefly summarises the problem of the independence of judges and courts from the perspective of both the Polish Constitution and international law and questions the argument that state sovereignty enables the political majority to impose unlimited change on the judicial system. The decline of constitutional review shows the disintegration of the discursive community of law in a country once treated as a model of the successful democratic transfromation. Polish judges found themselves in a hopeless position between the need of the constitutional obedience and the rising political pression. The strategy of the Polish government, quite different from the Hungarian one, highlights the need for a debate about the sources of legitimising the judiciary. Not in every country and under every political circumstance that the form of judges’ participation in public discourse can be limited to only typical judicial activities. The democratic crisis in Poland reveals a dramatic need for judges as educators and members of society to be active also outside the courtroom. Otherwise, it might not be possible to bolster the level of social confidence in the judiciary, and thus to strengthen its legitimacy, which has never been high and has been further reduced in recent years, mostly as a result of the progressing global socio-political crisis, which manifests itself in Poland and other Eastern European countries in a return to authoritarianism. A well-expressed but firm opposition to limitations placed on the constitutional competences of the judiciary by political authorities – the latter claiming to have the necessary democratic mandate – is not a form of political activity that is prohibited for judges, but is rather one of the legitimate instruments of participation in the debate. Even more than that, it is a manifestation of the judges’ implementation of their mandate towards the nation, which has constituted the judiciary as one of the authorities by which to express its will.
Międzynarodowe umowy indemnizacyjne w praktyce sądów, 2016
This paper has been devoted to the role played in reprivatization processes by the so-called inde... more This paper has been devoted to the role played in reprivatization processes by the so-called indemnization agreements, i.e. twelve intergovernmental agreements concluded by the government of the Polish People's Republic after World War II, which provided for the payment to some countries of the broadly understood Western bloc of the global lump sum compensation for real estate and other property interests of foreign nationals and moral persons, taken over by communist regime as a result of nationalization or broadly understood expropriations.
While these agreements have already been completed and expired at the international law level, they have had lasting legal effects that require analysis. The implementation of these agreements in the internal legal order, in accordance with the assumptions of the Polish authorities, takes place under the Act of 9 April 1968 on making entries in the land and mortgage registers for the State Treasury based on international agreements on the settlement of financial claims. As a result of the examination of the theory and practice of implementing this Act, it should be concluded that the payment of compensation under indemnity contracts could not and cannot lead to the state acquiring property of foreigners' property. This legal effect depends on the Polish internal law applicable to property rights on the basis of conflict of law provisions.
Effective nationalization of property cannot be ruled out as leading to a state acquisition of property. Nevertheless, during the Polish People's Republic there could have been (and indeed were) situations of confiscation of private property that did not meet the conditions for nationalization according to the then law (i.e. it did not fall under the legal instruments regarding nationalization). In such cases, preventing the return of property or paying compensation to former owners would require demonstrating an alternative condition for the acquisition of ownership by the State Treasury. Such a basis, however, cannot be provided by either foreign law or indemnity agreements as specific acts of international law, in accordance with the rule of jurisdiction lex rei sitae with regard to assets located in the country.
Relying on the final indication of Polish law as the authoritative source of property settlement, it must still be sought in the norms of property law, especially those providing for the waiver of property ownership, taking into account the norms of Polish intermittent law. The mere entry of the Treasury as the owner in the land and mortgage register, based on a decision of the Minister of Finance, does not constitute a change in the legal status of real estate in Poland.
Tematem opracowania jest zdolność sądowa oddziałów przedsiębiorców zagranicznych w aspekcie prawn... more Tematem opracowania jest zdolność sądowa oddziałów przedsiębiorców zagranicznych w aspekcie prawnoporównawczym. Pojęcie zdolności sądowej wprawdzie należy do elementów prawa procesowego cywilnego, jednak wykazuje ścisłe związki z prawem materialnym. Autor krytycznie ocenia nurt w orzecznictwie sądów powszechnych skłaniający się ku odrzucaniu pozwów w sprawach z udziałem przedsiębiorcy zagranicznego.
In the judicial practice of Polish common courts there is a statistically significant tendency to reject the suit every time when a branch of an enterprise participates in the proceedings. Not only does it hamper the international legal transactions, but also it occurs defective in the light of both the Polish and foreign laws. The courts of many countries, including among others the Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Austria, Italian Republic and the United States of America, are trying to convalidate proceedings impaired because of participation of the branch instead of the parent company, as they permit the re-interpretation of parties' submissions as well as correction of the parties' designation throughout the ongoing litigation. The right resolution in the majority of cases in which a branch of a foreign entrepreneur becomes a party to the civil lawsuit seems to be to empower the court to make its own interpretation as to the designation of a branch as an alleged “party to the proceedings” and to uphold the proceedings.
Subject matter of the analysis are the so called personal connecting factors for natural persons ... more Subject matter of the analysis are the so called personal connecting factors for natural persons in the choice of law, which in particular stands for the criteria of nationality, domicile, and habitual residence. Choosing one of them as the basis for the designation of the law applicable to issues of the personal status, family law, or the law of successions has been discussed since the moment of the very birth of the modern conflict of laws. The paper compares the most important characteristics of personal connecting factors, taking into consideration a general evaluation of their location within the framework of the Polish conflict-of-law provisions. Every solution in this field has its advantages and disadvantages , so that it is not possible a priori to say that the domination of a particular criterion is better than any other. At the same time the nationality connecting factor in its pure, objective form is gradually eliminated from both the European and international rules on the conflict of laws. Admittedly, such a trend not necessarily is a guidance for the Polish lawgiver, yet it will surely have some influence on the content of the future amendments to the Law of 4 February 2011 on the Private International Law. The author criticizes a solution consisting in using both domicile and habitual residence as subsidiary personal connecting factors, whereas this role should be assigned only to the latter. New prospects of a wider use of habitual residence not only in the private international law, but also the substantive law have been opened up recently. The answer to the challenges of the contemporary international commerce is not looking for the mystic " Sorcerer's stone " in the form of an ideal choice-of-law connection but rather a skillful mixture of various methods of designating and applying the appropriate rules of law, including among others a wider use of the parties' autonomy in the field of the choice of law.
W 2016 r. Komisja Europejska podjęła inicjatywę przekształcenia rozporządzenia Rady (WE) nr 2201/... more W 2016 r. Komisja Europejska podjęła inicjatywę przekształcenia rozporządzenia Rady (WE) nr 2201/2003 dotyczącego jurysdykcji oraz uznawania i wykonywania orzeczeń w sprawach małżeńskich oraz w sprawach dotyczących odpowiedzialności rodzicielskiej. W związku z tym, że w przeszłości rozporządzenie było wielokrotnie krytykowane za sprzyjanie strategii prawnoprocesowej polegającej na poszukiwaniu najkorzystniejszego dla stron miejsca wszczęcia postępowania (forum shopping), artykuł podejmuje próbę odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy i ewentualnie w jakim stopniu postulat zwalczania tego zjawiska może zostać zrealizowany w przekształconym rozporządzeniu, przy uwzględnieniu: a) wpływu stron na łączniki norm jurysdykcyjnych, oraz b) konkurujących podstaw jurysdykcji w sprawach podlegających rozporządzeniu. Teza leżąca u podstaw opracowania głosi, że forum shopping nie jest zjawiskiem zawsze i jednoznacznie negatywnym, wobec czego trudno uznać walkę z nim za priorytet przy przekształceniu rozporządzenia Bruksela II bis, szczególnie w Europejskiej Przestrzeni Sądowej opartej na wzajemnym zaufaniu i swobodnym przepływie orzeczeń. Istotna reforma norm jurysdykcyjnych rozporządzenia w zakresie spraw małżeńskich byłaby jednak pożądana z wielu innych powodów, m.in. pewności prawa, równości stron w dostępie do sądu oraz przewidywalności forum.
Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 2017
Procedure of the British withdrawal from the European Union, officially launched on the 29th of M... more Procedure of the British withdrawal from the European Union, officially launched on the 29th of March this year, opens not only questions of the general public-law governance but, first and foremost, gives rise to concern about its overall impact on the cross-border private-law trans- actions involving the UK and the rest-EU Member States. The article is focused on the regulatory risk within the framework of the Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters (JCCM), encompassing the EU common private international law (PIL) provisions. Some misapprehensions about a possible continuity of the cooperation based on the existing PIL international treaties (e.g. the Lugano Conventions or the 1980 Rome Convention) on the one hand, and the deficiencies of the post-Amsterdam JCCM legislative mechanisms on the other hand, have been considered. The current European legislative policy dramatically lacks consistency even with regard to the EU countries which have not been vested with a special status comparable to the UK, Ireland, or Denmark. Thus the article suggests a possibility of restructuring the JCCM so as to encourage the UK to cooperate with the EU in the form of a ‘Continental PIL Partnership.’
The voluntary recognition of parentage gives rise to the important legal questions, not only in t... more The voluntary recognition of parentage gives rise to the important legal questions, not only in the internal but also in the international relations. The purpose of the paper is an overview of the mutual influence between rules of the Polish private international law pertaining to the law governing the cross-border recognition of the child on the one hand and the law on the Polish nationality on the other hand. Provisions of Article 55, paragraphs (3) and (4) are based on the connecting factor of the nationality of the child (or, as to the recognition of the foetus, the nationality of its mother). This choice-of-law principle does not reflect the child's best interest because it generally makes the process of ascertaining the parenthood more complex. Another issue analysed in the article is the preliminary question of private law in the law on the Polish nationality, namely whether the courts and/or the administrative organs, have to take into consideration the recognition of parenthood as the assumption for the aquiring of the nationality of the Republic of Poland. Generally speaking, the choice-of-law provisions have to be applied by the competent authority in order to decide on the validity and the effectiveness of the recognition of the child whose nationality is the subject matter of the case.
The paper concerns the most important problems of the international private-law transactions to w... more The paper concerns the most important problems of the international private-law transactions to which States are the parties. It discusses, inter alia, the personality and personal status of the State, its ability to sue and be sued, law governing the so-called State contracts, State liability for both the acts of authority ('acta iure imperii') and the economic activities ('acta iure gestionis'). Least but not last, various modes of acquiring the property of private entities inter vivos or mortis causa have also been analysed.
The commented resolution of the Supreme Court settles the issue of the power of a person entered ... more The commented resolution of the Supreme Court settles the issue of the power of a person entered in the National Court Register as a representative of the Polish branch office of a foreign undertaking to grant a legal counsel a power of attorney in litigation in civil proceedings before a Polish court. Regardless of its cross-border implications, the problem has been solved exclusively on the basis of the Polish substantive law without any reference to the confl ict of law rules. This fact gives rise to criticism, just as the way of reasoning supported with the putative functional interpretation of the Polish law on the economic activity does, for the Supreme Court has indeed gone as far as to create a new legal rule outside the legislative process. For the aforementioned reasons, the resolution as the whole is unconvincing.
The authors criticize the standpoint of the CJEU with regard to the construction of Article 5(3) ... more The authors criticize the standpoint of the CJEU with regard to the construction of Article 5(3) of the Council Regulation No 44/2001 (Brussels I) as to the issue of court's jurisdiction in cases concerning the law applicable to the protection of the rights of personality. The line of reasoning aims at the need for restriction of too wide a scope of the applicant's choice as to the fora before which the defendant may be sued, which may incite the 'forum shopping'. The revision of the Court's current position under the Recast Regulation No 1215/2012 is suggested, which might be justified by its recital (16). On the other hand, the result of the Court's interpretation of Article 3(2) of the e-Commerce Directive No 2001/31 as excluding any direct designation of the law applicable to the infringement of personality rights in the Internet is correct. It is stressed, however, that the principle of origin might ocasionally modify the substantive result of application of the law governing the claims for the personality protection.
This article analyses the case law in Poland on matters of the return of children wrongfully remo... more This article analyses the case law in Poland on matters of the return of children wrongfully removed or retained within the framework of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction during the period of the “populist” government (2020–2022). It takes account of the legislative and judicial developments in the EU and the European Court of Human Rights and of the aims of the Hague Convention. It seeks to ascertain whether the influence of populist reforms and politicisation of the courts has become apparent in the case law of the Polish Supreme Court on international child abduction cases.
Wyrok w sprawie C-350/14, Lazar, dotyczy wskazania prawa właściwego dla zadośćuczynienia dla osób... more Wyrok w sprawie C-350/14, Lazar, dotyczy wskazania prawa właściwego dla zadośćuczynienia dla osób bliskich ofiary wypadku drogowego. Ustalona w nim wykładnia art. 4 rozporządzenia rzymskiego II 1 opiera się na założeniu, że do tej kwestii, zasadniczo tak samo jak do wszystkich aspektów danego zdarzenia, należy zastosować jedno i to samo prawo, wskazane łącznikiem miejsca wystąpienia szkody bezpośredniej-poniesionej przez główną ofiarę (lex loci damni directi). Uszczerbek poniesiony przez osoby bliskie zakwalifikowano zatem jako skutki pośrednie tego zdarzenia w rozumieniu art. 4 ust. 1 rozporządzenia. Takie podejście nie jest wprawdzie niekontrowersyjne, zważywszy na wyraźną odrębność naruszenia dóbr osobistych członków rodziny osoby pierwotnie poszkodowanej; zapewnia ono jednak pożądaną jednolitość reżimu prawnego, który ma zastosowanie do oceny prawnej wypadku wywołującego odpowiedzialność cywilną sprawcy. Z tego punktu widzenia udzieloną odpowiedź, niezależnie od różnych zastrzeżeń, należy ostatecznie uznać za słuszną. W sprawach roszczeń z tytułu wypadków drogowych wyrok ma istotny walor również dla sądów orzekających w tych państwach członkowskich, które-tak jak chociażby Polska-stosują konwencję haską o prawie właściwym dla wypadków drogowych. --- The judgment in case C-350/14, Lazar, concerns determination of the law applicable to compensation for the relatives of the victim of a road traffic accident. The interpretation of Article 4 of the Rome II Regulation given in the judgment is based on the assumption that in principle this issue should – just as all aspects of a given event – be governed by the one and same law, determined by the connecting factor of the place of the direct damage suffered by the main victim (lex loci damni directi). In other words, the damage suffered by relatives has been characterized as indirect consequences of that event within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the Regulation. Admittedly, such an attitude is not uncontroversial, given the distinct character of the violation of personality rights of the family members of the originally aggrieved person; however, it ensures the desired uniformity of the legal regime applicable to the legal assessment of the accident giving rise to the tortfeasor’s civil liability. From this point of view, the answer, notwithstanding the various objections, should ultimately be regarded as correct. In cases of claims arising from road traffic accidents, the judgment is also of great value to courts adjudicating in those Member States which – like Poland – are bound by the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Traffic Accidents.
Prezentowany wyrok Trybunału Sprawiedliwości w sprawie C-135/15, Nikiforidis dotyczy funkcji speł... more Prezentowany wyrok Trybunału Sprawiedliwości w sprawie C-135/15, Nikiforidis dotyczy funkcji spełnianej przez zagraniczne przepisy wymuszające swoje zastosowanie na tle jednego z podstawowych aktów europejskiego prawa prywatnego międzynarodowego: rozporządzenia rzymskiego I. Może on wzbudzać zainteresowanie szerszego kręgu odbiorców przynajmniej z dwóch powodów: po pierwsze, z uwagi na zawarte w nim wskazówki odnośnie do jednolitej i autonomicznej wykładni przepisów prawa wtórnego w ramach przestrzeni wolności, bezpieczeństwa i sprawiedliwości; po drugie zaś-ze względu na ukazanie w nim zaskakujących powiązań między prawem kolizyjnym a przepisami realizującymi cele ochrony stabilności fiskalnej w strefie euro. Restrykcyjną wykładnię art. 9 ust. 3 rozporządzenia rzymskiego I, której dokonał Trybunał, na pierwszy rzut oka podważa wprowadzenie "tylnymi drzwiami" możliwości uwzględniania przepisów wymuszających państw trzecich, innych niż państwo wykonania umowy, jako okoliczności faktycznej. Pozorny dysonans w stanowisku Trybunału można wyjaśnić koniecznością pogodzenia litery kompromisu legislacyjnego, jaki legł u podstaw art. 9 rozporządzenia rzymskiego I, z drugiej zaś strony świadomością wspólnych interesów finansowych państw strefy euro. ---- The discussed judgment of the Court of Justice in the case C-135/15, Nikiforidis concerns the function fulfilled by foreign overriding mandatory provisions in the light of one of the basic instruments of European private international law: the Rome I Regulation. It may arouse the interest of a wider audience for at least two reasons: firstly, because it provides guidance on the uniform and autonomous interpretation of EU secondary legislation within the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; and secondly, due to the fact that it reveals surprising links between the conflict of laws and the regulations pursuing the objectives of protecting fiscal stability in the Eurozone. A restrictive interpretation by the Court of Justice of Article 9(3) of the Rome I Regulation has at first glance been undermined through a backdoor introduction of a possibility of taking into account, as a matter of fact, of overriding mandatory provisions of third countries other than the place of performance. The apparent dissonance in the Court of Justice’s position can be explained by the necessity to reconcile the letter of the legislative compromise that underlies the whole Article 9 of the Rome I Regulation on the one hand, and, on the other hand, awareness of the common financial interests of the Member States belonging to the Eurozone.
Opracowanie obejmuje omówienie wyroku TS z 10.12.2015 r., C-594/14, Kornhaas. Ustalono w nim dopu... more Opracowanie obejmuje omówienie wyroku TS z 10.12.2015 r., C-594/14, Kornhaas. Ustalono w nim dopuszczalność dochodzenia roszczeń przeciwko zarządcy niewypłacalnej spółki o zwrot nienależnie dokonanych płatności w oparciu o prawo obowiązujące w państwie, w którym znajduje się główny ośrodek jej podstawowej działalności, zgodnie z normą kolizyjną rozporządzenia nr 1346/2000 z 29.05.2000 r. w sprawie postępowania upadłościowego (obecnie zastąpionego rozporządzeniem nr 2015/848). Odpowiedź Trybunału, przychylna kwalifikacji odpowiedzialności piastunów funkcji zarządu spółki do zakresu statutu upadłościo-wego, na pierwszy rzut oka stanowi odstępstwo od wcześniejszego orzecznictwa (zwłaszcza w sprawach C-208/00, Überseering oraz C-167/01, Inspire Art); staje się jednak bardziej zrozumiała w kontekście zjawiska określanego jako "arbitraż regulacyjny" w unijnym prawie spółek. Słabością wyroku jest niewątpliwie brak ogólnych wskazówek odnośnie do kolizyjnoprawnej kwalifikacji podobnych roszczeń w razie niewypłacalności spółki, jeżeli związek z jej ewentualną ostateczną upadłością nie jest bezpośredni; wszystko to pozwala sądzić, że w przyszłości wspomniane kwestie będą wymagały dalszego doprecyzowania. ------- The paper discusses the CJEU judgment of 10 December 2015, C-594/14, Kornhaas. It established the admissibility of pursuing claims against the director of an insolvent company for reimbursement of wrongful payments under the law in force in a country where its center of main interests (COMI) is located, pursuant to the conflict-of-law rule of the Council Regulation No. 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings (now replaced by the Regulation No. 2015/848). The Court’s answer, favoring the characterization of the liability of the company’s management within the scope of the law applicable to insolvency, at first glance deviates from previous case law (especially judgments in C-208/00, Überseering and C-167/01, Inspire Art); however, it becomes more understandable in the context of what is known as “regulatory arbitration” within the EU company law. The weakness of the judgment is undoubtedly the lack of general guidelines regarding the conflict-of-law characterization of similar claims in cases of the company’s insolvency, if the connection with its possible final bankruptcy is only indirect; all of this suggests that in the future the above-mentioned issues will require further clarification.
Comment on the judgment of the Court of Justice (Third Chamber) of 12 November 2014, C-656/13, L ... more Comment on the judgment of the Court of Justice (Third Chamber) of 12 November 2014, C-656/13, L v M: Reference for a preliminary ruling — Area of freedom, security and justice — Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility — Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 — Article 12(3) — Child whose parents are not married — Prorogation of jurisdiction — No other related proceedings pending — Acceptance of jurisdiction — Challenge to the jurisdiction of a court by a party who has made an application to that court.
The article takes up the difficult problem of the so-called disobedience of judges against the ba... more The article takes up the difficult problem of the so-called disobedience of judges against the background of the experiences of the Polish departure from constitutional democracy in 2015-2020. The special role and responsibility of a judge in the state imposes restrictions on her freedom of opinion in the public sphere. Openly manifesting opposition to government policy, which in the case of an ordinary citizen is only the implementation of human rights and freedoms, may be described as controversial and contrary to applicable ethical regulations. The main thesis of this paper is the assertion that although judges who act as impartial arbitrators in disputes should generally refrain from ostentatiously opposing the actions of political authorities, they are not deprived of the possibility of protest. Also in the exercise of office, and not outside the sphere of their duties, judges should take into account overriding moral values that should be implemented by the legal order, and not the values or declarations guiding the government policies. The integrity of the judge, which prescribes restraint in statements and actions in the public sphere, as well as the care for the dignity of the office held, should not be confused with absolute subordination to the legislature or the executive, even if the judge is obliged to apply the law. The traditional attitude of the members of the judiciary, consisting in focusing only on the application of the law in individual cases and the lack of any political involvement, is being reviewed in the face of the spread of majoritarianism and the law abuse as normal techniques of exercising public authority. The disobedience of judges-although difficult to defend at first sight-may seem to be the only possible way to draw public attention to the corruption of the state system. The 'disobedient' judges can even be assigned the role of 'whistleblowers', which should help to ease their legal liability or their future rehabilitation.
Weltbürgerliches Recht - Festschrift für Michael Martinek zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. S. Omlor, 2020
Two judgments: of the Polish Supreme Court of 17 September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets for EURO 2... more Two judgments: of the Polish Supreme Court of 17 September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets for EURO 2012 Championship) and of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 28.7.2016 in case C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation v Amazon EU Sàrl, cast some light on the role of choice of law in consumer contracts. They show the unequivocally wrong decision of the European legislator to make the choice of law for contractual obligations the main connecting factor for consumer contracts in the conflict of laws. The view of the Polish Supreme Court, although at first glance very far from the letter of EU law, in fact confirms that the choice of law clause in general terms of contracts may raise doubts as to its compliance with Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in consumer contracts. In this context, the objections of the Court of Justice of the EU to the effectiveness of the choice of law set out in the VKI judgment become clearer. Generally speaking, requiring the court to construe the content of the obligation under the consumer contract on the basis of the "legal mix" of provisions most favorable to the consumer, undermines legal certainty and the effectiveness of the judicial protection in the internal market. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dwa wyroki: polskiego Sądu Najwyższego RP z 17 września 2014 r., I CSK 555/13 ("Bilety na Mistrzostwa EURO 2012") oraz Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej z dnia 28 lipca 2016 r. W sprawie C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation przeciwko Amazon EU Sàrl, rzucają nieco światła na rolę wyboru prawa dla umów konsumenckich. Wskazują one na jednoznacznie błędną decyzję europejskiego prawodawcy, zgodnie z którą wybór prawa dla zobowiązań umownych pozostaje głównym łącznikiem umów konsumenckich w prawie kolizyjnym. Stanowisko polskiego Sądu Najwyższego, choć na pierwszy rzut oka bardzo odległe od litery prawa unijnego, faktycznie potwierdza, że klauzula wyboru prawa w ogólnych warunkach umów może budzić wątpliwości co do jej zgodności z dyrektywą 93/13 o nieuczciwych warunkach w umowach konsumenckich. W tym kontekście zastrzeżenia Trybunału Sprawiedliwości UE co do skuteczności wyboru prawa, wyrażone w wyroku w sprawie VKI, stają się jaśniejsze. Ogólnie rzecz biorąc, wymaganie od sądu ustalenia treści zobowiązania wynikającego z umowy konsumenckiej w oparciu o „prawny miks” przepisów najbardziej korzystnych dla konsumenta podważa pewność prawa i skuteczność ochrony sądowej na rynku wewnętrznym. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zwei Urteile: des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs vom 17. September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets für die EURO 2012-Meisterschaft) und des Gerichtshofs der Europäischen Union vom 28.7.2016 in der Rs. C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation ./. Amazon EU Sàrl beleuchten die Rolle der Rechtswahl in Verbraucherverträgen. Sie zeigen die eindeutig falsche Entscheidung des europäischen Gesetzgebers, die Rechtswahl für vertragliche Verpflichtungen zum Hauptanknüpfung für Verbraucherverträge im IPR zu machen. Die Ansicht des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs, obwohl auf den ersten Blick sehr weit vom Buchstaben des EU-Rechts entfernt, bestätigt tatsächlich, dass die Rechtswahlklausel in AGB Zweifel an der Einhaltung der Richtlinie 93/13 über mißbräuchliche Klauseln in Verbraucherverträgen aufkommen lassen kann. In diesem Zusammenhang werden die im VKI-Urteil dargelegten Einwände des EuGH gegen die Wirksamkeit der Rechtswahl deutlicher. Im Allgemeinen untergräbt die Forderung von einem Gericht, den Inhalt der Verpflichtung aus dem Verbrauchervertrag auf der Grundlage des für den Verbraucher günstigsten "Rechtsmix" von Bestimmungen zu konstruieren, die Rechtssicherheit und die Effektivität des Rechtsschutzes im Binnenmarkt .
Pilich, Mateusz: Private international law facing the challenges of today: Migrations and multice... more Pilich, Mateusz: Private international law facing the challenges of today: Migrations and multicentricity
The article discusses issues that are fundamental to shaping the future of private international law: the phenomenon of migration and the so-called multicentricity of creation and application of law. The subject matter of the discussion is the evolution of Savigny’s classical paradigm of private international law as an “arbitrator” between the legal systems of nation states. Modern migrations are characterized by multidirectional population flows and decreasing stability of links between a person and a specific territory; in turn, multicentricity entails the obligation to constantly reconcile various legal rules coming from various law-making centres. The author does not question the advantages of Karl Friedrich von Savigny’s concept, but considers it necessary to reconcile it with the increasingly complicated and eclectic structure of private international law in the first half of the 21st century. The concept of the so-called sovereignty of an individual – an increased importance of individual values at the expense of collective, nation-wide or general public values – causes significant confusion about the concept of “conflict-of-law justice” based on the idea of a “spatially better” law, that is, the closest connection between law and a particular case. Such a specific concept, when confronted with increasingly complex legal structures of today’s world, is experiencing a significant crisis. The term “law of conflict” ceases to be reserved for private international law only, just as conflicts of laws cease to arise only at cross-border level. The solution might consist in turning back to the doctrine of natural law and thus departing from a strictly positivist vision of conflict-law as a finite set of simple rules used to attribute relations to relevant national law systems. Although international private law will certainly not forget about von Savigny, we can assume that it no longer belongs to his legacy.
Relations between the judiciary and the elected authorities (i.e. the legislative and the executi... more Relations between the judiciary and the elected authorities (i.e. the legislative and the executive) in each country and at all times are among the most sensitive from the point of view of statehood. The present paper undertakes a problem of the constitutional backsliding in Poland in and after 2015. It briefly summarises the problem of the independence of judges and courts from the perspective of both the Polish Constitution and international law and questions the argument that state sovereignty enables the political majority to impose unlimited change on the judicial system. The decline of constitutional review shows the disintegration of the discursive community of law in a country once treated as a model of the successful democratic transfromation. Polish judges found themselves in a hopeless position between the need of the constitutional obedience and the rising political pression. The strategy of the Polish government, quite different from the Hungarian one, highlights the need for a debate about the sources of legitimising the judiciary. Not in every country and under every political circumstance that the form of judges’ participation in public discourse can be limited to only typical judicial activities. The democratic crisis in Poland reveals a dramatic need for judges as educators and members of society to be active also outside the courtroom. Otherwise, it might not be possible to bolster the level of social confidence in the judiciary, and thus to strengthen its legitimacy, which has never been high and has been further reduced in recent years, mostly as a result of the progressing global socio-political crisis, which manifests itself in Poland and other Eastern European countries in a return to authoritarianism. A well-expressed but firm opposition to limitations placed on the constitutional competences of the judiciary by political authorities – the latter claiming to have the necessary democratic mandate – is not a form of political activity that is prohibited for judges, but is rather one of the legitimate instruments of participation in the debate. Even more than that, it is a manifestation of the judges’ implementation of their mandate towards the nation, which has constituted the judiciary as one of the authorities by which to express its will.
Międzynarodowe umowy indemnizacyjne w praktyce sądów, 2016
This paper has been devoted to the role played in reprivatization processes by the so-called inde... more This paper has been devoted to the role played in reprivatization processes by the so-called indemnization agreements, i.e. twelve intergovernmental agreements concluded by the government of the Polish People's Republic after World War II, which provided for the payment to some countries of the broadly understood Western bloc of the global lump sum compensation for real estate and other property interests of foreign nationals and moral persons, taken over by communist regime as a result of nationalization or broadly understood expropriations.
While these agreements have already been completed and expired at the international law level, they have had lasting legal effects that require analysis. The implementation of these agreements in the internal legal order, in accordance with the assumptions of the Polish authorities, takes place under the Act of 9 April 1968 on making entries in the land and mortgage registers for the State Treasury based on international agreements on the settlement of financial claims. As a result of the examination of the theory and practice of implementing this Act, it should be concluded that the payment of compensation under indemnity contracts could not and cannot lead to the state acquiring property of foreigners' property. This legal effect depends on the Polish internal law applicable to property rights on the basis of conflict of law provisions.
Effective nationalization of property cannot be ruled out as leading to a state acquisition of property. Nevertheless, during the Polish People's Republic there could have been (and indeed were) situations of confiscation of private property that did not meet the conditions for nationalization according to the then law (i.e. it did not fall under the legal instruments regarding nationalization). In such cases, preventing the return of property or paying compensation to former owners would require demonstrating an alternative condition for the acquisition of ownership by the State Treasury. Such a basis, however, cannot be provided by either foreign law or indemnity agreements as specific acts of international law, in accordance with the rule of jurisdiction lex rei sitae with regard to assets located in the country.
Relying on the final indication of Polish law as the authoritative source of property settlement, it must still be sought in the norms of property law, especially those providing for the waiver of property ownership, taking into account the norms of Polish intermittent law. The mere entry of the Treasury as the owner in the land and mortgage register, based on a decision of the Minister of Finance, does not constitute a change in the legal status of real estate in Poland.
Tematem opracowania jest zdolność sądowa oddziałów przedsiębiorców zagranicznych w aspekcie prawn... more Tematem opracowania jest zdolność sądowa oddziałów przedsiębiorców zagranicznych w aspekcie prawnoporównawczym. Pojęcie zdolności sądowej wprawdzie należy do elementów prawa procesowego cywilnego, jednak wykazuje ścisłe związki z prawem materialnym. Autor krytycznie ocenia nurt w orzecznictwie sądów powszechnych skłaniający się ku odrzucaniu pozwów w sprawach z udziałem przedsiębiorcy zagranicznego.
In the judicial practice of Polish common courts there is a statistically significant tendency to reject the suit every time when a branch of an enterprise participates in the proceedings. Not only does it hamper the international legal transactions, but also it occurs defective in the light of both the Polish and foreign laws. The courts of many countries, including among others the Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Austria, Italian Republic and the United States of America, are trying to convalidate proceedings impaired because of participation of the branch instead of the parent company, as they permit the re-interpretation of parties' submissions as well as correction of the parties' designation throughout the ongoing litigation. The right resolution in the majority of cases in which a branch of a foreign entrepreneur becomes a party to the civil lawsuit seems to be to empower the court to make its own interpretation as to the designation of a branch as an alleged “party to the proceedings” and to uphold the proceedings.
Subject matter of the analysis are the so called personal connecting factors for natural persons ... more Subject matter of the analysis are the so called personal connecting factors for natural persons in the choice of law, which in particular stands for the criteria of nationality, domicile, and habitual residence. Choosing one of them as the basis for the designation of the law applicable to issues of the personal status, family law, or the law of successions has been discussed since the moment of the very birth of the modern conflict of laws. The paper compares the most important characteristics of personal connecting factors, taking into consideration a general evaluation of their location within the framework of the Polish conflict-of-law provisions. Every solution in this field has its advantages and disadvantages , so that it is not possible a priori to say that the domination of a particular criterion is better than any other. At the same time the nationality connecting factor in its pure, objective form is gradually eliminated from both the European and international rules on the conflict of laws. Admittedly, such a trend not necessarily is a guidance for the Polish lawgiver, yet it will surely have some influence on the content of the future amendments to the Law of 4 February 2011 on the Private International Law. The author criticizes a solution consisting in using both domicile and habitual residence as subsidiary personal connecting factors, whereas this role should be assigned only to the latter. New prospects of a wider use of habitual residence not only in the private international law, but also the substantive law have been opened up recently. The answer to the challenges of the contemporary international commerce is not looking for the mystic " Sorcerer's stone " in the form of an ideal choice-of-law connection but rather a skillful mixture of various methods of designating and applying the appropriate rules of law, including among others a wider use of the parties' autonomy in the field of the choice of law.
W 2016 r. Komisja Europejska podjęła inicjatywę przekształcenia rozporządzenia Rady (WE) nr 2201/... more W 2016 r. Komisja Europejska podjęła inicjatywę przekształcenia rozporządzenia Rady (WE) nr 2201/2003 dotyczącego jurysdykcji oraz uznawania i wykonywania orzeczeń w sprawach małżeńskich oraz w sprawach dotyczących odpowiedzialności rodzicielskiej. W związku z tym, że w przeszłości rozporządzenie było wielokrotnie krytykowane za sprzyjanie strategii prawnoprocesowej polegającej na poszukiwaniu najkorzystniejszego dla stron miejsca wszczęcia postępowania (forum shopping), artykuł podejmuje próbę odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy i ewentualnie w jakim stopniu postulat zwalczania tego zjawiska może zostać zrealizowany w przekształconym rozporządzeniu, przy uwzględnieniu: a) wpływu stron na łączniki norm jurysdykcyjnych, oraz b) konkurujących podstaw jurysdykcji w sprawach podlegających rozporządzeniu. Teza leżąca u podstaw opracowania głosi, że forum shopping nie jest zjawiskiem zawsze i jednoznacznie negatywnym, wobec czego trudno uznać walkę z nim za priorytet przy przekształceniu rozporządzenia Bruksela II bis, szczególnie w Europejskiej Przestrzeni Sądowej opartej na wzajemnym zaufaniu i swobodnym przepływie orzeczeń. Istotna reforma norm jurysdykcyjnych rozporządzenia w zakresie spraw małżeńskich byłaby jednak pożądana z wielu innych powodów, m.in. pewności prawa, równości stron w dostępie do sądu oraz przewidywalności forum.
Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 2017
Procedure of the British withdrawal from the European Union, officially launched on the 29th of M... more Procedure of the British withdrawal from the European Union, officially launched on the 29th of March this year, opens not only questions of the general public-law governance but, first and foremost, gives rise to concern about its overall impact on the cross-border private-law trans- actions involving the UK and the rest-EU Member States. The article is focused on the regulatory risk within the framework of the Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters (JCCM), encompassing the EU common private international law (PIL) provisions. Some misapprehensions about a possible continuity of the cooperation based on the existing PIL international treaties (e.g. the Lugano Conventions or the 1980 Rome Convention) on the one hand, and the deficiencies of the post-Amsterdam JCCM legislative mechanisms on the other hand, have been considered. The current European legislative policy dramatically lacks consistency even with regard to the EU countries which have not been vested with a special status comparable to the UK, Ireland, or Denmark. Thus the article suggests a possibility of restructuring the JCCM so as to encourage the UK to cooperate with the EU in the form of a ‘Continental PIL Partnership.’
The voluntary recognition of parentage gives rise to the important legal questions, not only in t... more The voluntary recognition of parentage gives rise to the important legal questions, not only in the internal but also in the international relations. The purpose of the paper is an overview of the mutual influence between rules of the Polish private international law pertaining to the law governing the cross-border recognition of the child on the one hand and the law on the Polish nationality on the other hand. Provisions of Article 55, paragraphs (3) and (4) are based on the connecting factor of the nationality of the child (or, as to the recognition of the foetus, the nationality of its mother). This choice-of-law principle does not reflect the child's best interest because it generally makes the process of ascertaining the parenthood more complex. Another issue analysed in the article is the preliminary question of private law in the law on the Polish nationality, namely whether the courts and/or the administrative organs, have to take into consideration the recognition of parenthood as the assumption for the aquiring of the nationality of the Republic of Poland. Generally speaking, the choice-of-law provisions have to be applied by the competent authority in order to decide on the validity and the effectiveness of the recognition of the child whose nationality is the subject matter of the case.
The paper concerns the most important problems of the international private-law transactions to w... more The paper concerns the most important problems of the international private-law transactions to which States are the parties. It discusses, inter alia, the personality and personal status of the State, its ability to sue and be sued, law governing the so-called State contracts, State liability for both the acts of authority ('acta iure imperii') and the economic activities ('acta iure gestionis'). Least but not last, various modes of acquiring the property of private entities inter vivos or mortis causa have also been analysed.
The commented resolution of the Supreme Court settles the issue of the power of a person entered ... more The commented resolution of the Supreme Court settles the issue of the power of a person entered in the National Court Register as a representative of the Polish branch office of a foreign undertaking to grant a legal counsel a power of attorney in litigation in civil proceedings before a Polish court. Regardless of its cross-border implications, the problem has been solved exclusively on the basis of the Polish substantive law without any reference to the confl ict of law rules. This fact gives rise to criticism, just as the way of reasoning supported with the putative functional interpretation of the Polish law on the economic activity does, for the Supreme Court has indeed gone as far as to create a new legal rule outside the legislative process. For the aforementioned reasons, the resolution as the whole is unconvincing.
The authors criticize the standpoint of the CJEU with regard to the construction of Article 5(3) ... more The authors criticize the standpoint of the CJEU with regard to the construction of Article 5(3) of the Council Regulation No 44/2001 (Brussels I) as to the issue of court's jurisdiction in cases concerning the law applicable to the protection of the rights of personality. The line of reasoning aims at the need for restriction of too wide a scope of the applicant's choice as to the fora before which the defendant may be sued, which may incite the 'forum shopping'. The revision of the Court's current position under the Recast Regulation No 1215/2012 is suggested, which might be justified by its recital (16). On the other hand, the result of the Court's interpretation of Article 3(2) of the e-Commerce Directive No 2001/31 as excluding any direct designation of the law applicable to the infringement of personality rights in the Internet is correct. It is stressed, however, that the principle of origin might ocasionally modify the substantive result of application of the law governing the claims for the personality protection.
Problemy Współczesnego Prawa Międzynarodowego, Europejskiego i Porównawczego, 2018
Problematyka macierzyństwa zastępczego (gestational surrogacy) stanowi nie od dzisiaj poważne wyz... more Problematyka macierzyństwa zastępczego (gestational surrogacy) stanowi nie od dzisiaj poważne wyzwanie dla polskiej i zagranicznej nauki prawa. Artykuł podejmuje niełatwe zagadnienie przesłanek i zakresu stosowania klauzuli porządku publicznego w sprawach przed polskimi sądami i organami - szczególnie w procedurze transkrypcji zagranicznych aktów urodzenia oraz potwierdzenia posiadania obywatelstwa polskiego dziecka urodzonego w ramach wykonania umowy z matką zastępczą, które jest genetycznie spokrewnione z rodzicami socjologicznymi. Liczne niekonsekwencje rozumowania w polskiej judykaturze i doktrynie międzynarodowego prawa rodzinnego każą wątpić w prawidłowość zastosowania klauzuli w większości spraw ostatnich lat.
The issue of gestational surrogacy is a serious challenge to Polish and foreign law. The article deals with the difficult questions of the assumptions and the scope of application of the public policy exception in cases before the Polish courts and authorities - especially in the procedure of the transcription of foreign birth certificates and certifying the Polish nationality acquired by a child born of a surrogate mother and genetically related to his or her sociological parents. Numerous inconsistencies of reasoning in Polish case law and the doctrine of international family law rise doubts about the correctness of the application of the 'ordre public' in most cases of recent years.
Studia i Analizy Sądu Najwyższego. Materiały Naukowe, vol. VIII, 2019
The present paper, delivered to the conference held at the Supreme Court of Poland on the 26th of... more The present paper, delivered to the conference held at the Supreme Court of Poland on the 26th of April 2019 in Warsaw, deals with issues of the rule of law as the principle of international law. As the matter of fact, international legal instruments do not refer to this notion in an unequivocal way. There are at least two different meanings of the rule of law: the one, addressed to the states as members of the international community ('truly international' rule of law), and the other one, which is aimed at the restriction of the arbitral power of sovereign rulers within states themselves through international commitments. The paper is actually devoted only to the latter. The most important aspect of the international rule of law so understood appears to consist in enforcement of the powers of international organizations, making their member states legally liable for the infringement of the duty to contribute to the common aims, including the peaceful cooperation. The latter is not available, unless states secure more or less the same level of the respect for principles of legality, equality before the law, and the right of fair trial, all being encompassed by the rule of law.
Książka stanowi systematyczne wyjaśnienie przepisów dwustronnej umowy polsko-ukraińskiej o pomocy... more Książka stanowi systematyczne wyjaśnienie przepisów dwustronnej umowy polsko-ukraińskiej o pomocy prawnej i stosunkach prawnych, która dotyczy jurysdykcji sądów i organów, uznawania i wykonywania orzeczeń oraz prawa właściwego w sprawach z zakresu prawa cywilnego i karnego między obu państwami, a także pomocy prawnej i toku czynności w postępowaniach z udziałem podmiotów ukraińskich w Polsce lub polskich w Ukrainie. Komentarz pomoże szczególnie sędziom, pracownikom organów administracji publicznej oraz pełnomocnikom stron w rozstrzyganiu bieżących problemów w postępowaniach transgranicznych polsko-ukraińskich. ----- The book is a systematic explanation of the provisions of the Polish-Ukrainian bilateral agreement on legal assistance and legal relations, which concerns the jurisdiction of courts and authorities, the recognition and enforcement of judgments and the applicable law in matters of civil and criminal law between the two countries, as well as legal assistance and the course of legal actions in proceedings involving Ukrainian entities in Poland or Polish entities in Ukraine. The commentary will especially help judges, employees of public administration bodies and attorneys of the parties in resolving current problems in Polish-Ukrainian cross-border proceedings.
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Papers by Mateusz Pilich
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The judgment in case C-350/14, Lazar, concerns determination of the law applicable to compensation for the relatives of the victim of a road traffic accident. The interpretation of Article 4 of the Rome II Regulation given in the judgment is based on the assumption that in principle this issue should – just as all aspects of a given event – be governed by the one and same law, determined by the connecting factor of the place of the direct damage suffered by the main victim (lex loci damni directi). In other words, the damage suffered by relatives has been characterized as indirect consequences of that event within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the Regulation. Admittedly, such an attitude is not uncontroversial, given the distinct character of the violation of personality rights of the family members of the originally aggrieved person; however, it ensures the desired uniformity of the legal regime applicable to the legal assessment of the accident giving rise to the tortfeasor’s civil liability. From this point of view, the answer, notwithstanding the various objections, should ultimately be regarded as correct. In cases of claims arising from road traffic accidents, the judgment is also of great value to courts adjudicating in those Member States which – like Poland – are bound by the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Traffic Accidents.
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The discussed judgment of the Court of Justice in the case C-135/15, Nikiforidis concerns the function fulfilled by foreign overriding mandatory provisions in the light of one of the basic instruments of European private international law: the Rome I Regulation. It may arouse the interest of a wider audience for at least two reasons: firstly, because it provides guidance on the uniform and autonomous interpretation of EU secondary legislation within the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; and secondly, due to the fact that it reveals surprising links between the conflict of laws and the regulations pursuing the objectives of protecting fiscal stability in the Eurozone. A restrictive interpretation by the Court of Justice of Article 9(3) of the Rome I Regulation has at first glance been undermined through a backdoor introduction of a possibility of taking into account, as a matter of fact, of overriding mandatory provisions of third countries other than the place of performance. The apparent dissonance in the Court of Justice’s position can be explained by the necessity to reconcile the letter of the legislative compromise that underlies the whole Article 9 of the Rome I Regulation on the one hand, and, on the other hand, awareness of the common financial interests of the Member States belonging to the Eurozone.
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The paper discusses the CJEU judgment of 10 December 2015, C-594/14, Kornhaas. It established the admissibility of pursuing claims against the director of an insolvent company for reimbursement of wrongful payments under the law in force in a country where its center of main interests (COMI) is located, pursuant to the conflict-of-law rule of the Council Regulation No. 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings (now replaced by the Regulation No. 2015/848). The Court’s answer, favoring the characterization of the liability of the company’s management within the scope of the law applicable to insolvency, at first glance deviates from previous case law (especially judgments in C-208/00, Überseering and C-167/01, Inspire Art); however, it becomes more understandable in the context of what is known as “regulatory arbitration” within the EU company law. The weakness of the judgment is undoubtedly the lack of general guidelines regarding the conflict-of-law characterization of similar claims in cases of the company’s insolvency, if the connection with its possible final bankruptcy is only indirect; all of this suggests that in the future the above-mentioned issues will require further clarification.
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Dwa wyroki: polskiego Sądu Najwyższego RP z 17 września 2014 r., I CSK 555/13 ("Bilety na Mistrzostwa EURO 2012") oraz Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej z dnia 28 lipca 2016 r. W sprawie C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation przeciwko Amazon EU Sàrl, rzucają nieco światła na rolę wyboru prawa dla umów konsumenckich. Wskazują one na jednoznacznie błędną decyzję europejskiego prawodawcy, zgodnie z którą wybór prawa dla zobowiązań umownych pozostaje głównym łącznikiem umów konsumenckich w prawie kolizyjnym. Stanowisko polskiego Sądu Najwyższego, choć na pierwszy rzut oka bardzo odległe od litery prawa unijnego, faktycznie potwierdza, że klauzula wyboru prawa w ogólnych warunkach umów może budzić wątpliwości co do jej zgodności z dyrektywą 93/13 o nieuczciwych warunkach w umowach konsumenckich. W tym kontekście zastrzeżenia Trybunału Sprawiedliwości UE co do skuteczności wyboru prawa, wyrażone w wyroku w sprawie VKI, stają się jaśniejsze. Ogólnie rzecz biorąc, wymaganie od sądu ustalenia treści zobowiązania wynikającego z umowy konsumenckiej w oparciu o „prawny miks” przepisów najbardziej korzystnych dla konsumenta podważa pewność prawa i skuteczność ochrony sądowej na rynku wewnętrznym.
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Zwei Urteile: des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs vom 17. September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets für die EURO 2012-Meisterschaft) und des Gerichtshofs der Europäischen Union vom 28.7.2016 in der Rs. C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation ./. Amazon EU Sàrl beleuchten die Rolle der Rechtswahl in Verbraucherverträgen. Sie zeigen die eindeutig falsche Entscheidung des europäischen Gesetzgebers, die Rechtswahl für vertragliche Verpflichtungen zum Hauptanknüpfung für Verbraucherverträge im IPR zu machen. Die Ansicht des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs, obwohl auf den ersten Blick sehr weit vom Buchstaben des EU-Rechts entfernt, bestätigt tatsächlich, dass die Rechtswahlklausel in AGB Zweifel an der Einhaltung der Richtlinie 93/13 über mißbräuchliche Klauseln in Verbraucherverträgen aufkommen lassen kann. In diesem Zusammenhang werden die im VKI-Urteil dargelegten Einwände des EuGH gegen die Wirksamkeit der Rechtswahl deutlicher. Im Allgemeinen untergräbt die Forderung von einem Gericht, den Inhalt der Verpflichtung aus dem Verbrauchervertrag auf der Grundlage des für den Verbraucher günstigsten "Rechtsmix" von Bestimmungen zu konstruieren, die Rechtssicherheit und die Effektivität des Rechtsschutzes im Binnenmarkt .
The article discusses issues that are fundamental to shaping the future of private international law: the phenomenon of migration and the so-called multicentricity of creation and application of law. The subject matter of the discussion is the evolution of Savigny’s classical paradigm of private international law as an “arbitrator” between the legal systems of nation states. Modern migrations are characterized by multidirectional population flows and decreasing stability of links between a person and a specific territory; in turn, multicentricity entails the obligation to constantly reconcile various legal rules coming from various law-making centres. The author does not question the advantages of Karl Friedrich von Savigny’s concept, but considers it necessary to reconcile it with the increasingly complicated and eclectic structure of private international law in the first half of the 21st century. The concept of the so-called sovereignty of an individual – an increased importance of individual values at the expense of collective, nation-wide or general public values – causes significant confusion about the concept of “conflict-of-law justice” based on the idea of a “spatially better” law, that is, the closest connection between law and a particular case. Such a specific concept, when confronted with increasingly complex legal structures of today’s world, is experiencing a significant crisis. The term “law of conflict” ceases to be reserved for private international law only, just as conflicts of laws cease to arise only at cross-border level. The solution might consist in turning back to the doctrine of natural law and thus departing from a strictly positivist vision of conflict-law as a finite set of simple rules used to attribute relations to relevant national law systems. Although international private law will certainly not forget about von Savigny, we can assume that it no longer belongs to his legacy.
While these agreements have already been completed and expired at the international law level, they have had lasting legal effects that require analysis. The implementation of these agreements in the internal legal order, in accordance with the assumptions of the Polish authorities, takes place under the Act of 9 April 1968 on making entries in the land and mortgage registers for the State Treasury based on international agreements on the settlement of financial claims. As a result of the examination of the theory and practice of implementing this Act, it should be concluded that the payment of compensation under indemnity contracts could not and cannot lead to the state acquiring property of foreigners' property. This legal effect depends on the Polish internal law applicable to property rights on the basis of conflict of law provisions.
Effective nationalization of property cannot be ruled out as leading to a state acquisition of property. Nevertheless, during the Polish People's Republic there could have been (and indeed were) situations of confiscation of private property that did not meet the conditions for nationalization according to the then law (i.e. it did not fall under the legal instruments regarding nationalization). In such cases, preventing the return of property or paying compensation to former owners would require demonstrating an alternative condition for the acquisition of ownership by the State Treasury. Such a basis, however, cannot be provided by either foreign law or indemnity agreements as specific acts of international law, in accordance with the rule of jurisdiction lex rei sitae with regard to assets located in the country.
Relying on the final indication of Polish law as the authoritative source of property settlement, it must still be sought in the norms of property law, especially those providing for the waiver of property ownership, taking into account the norms of Polish intermittent law. The mere entry of the Treasury as the owner in the land and mortgage register, based on a decision of the Minister of Finance, does not constitute a change in the legal status of real estate in Poland.
In the judicial practice of Polish common courts there is a statistically significant tendency to reject the suit every time when a branch of an enterprise participates in the proceedings. Not only does it hamper the international legal transactions, but also it occurs defective in the light of both the Polish and foreign laws. The courts of many countries, including among others the Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Austria, Italian Republic and the United States of America, are trying to convalidate proceedings impaired because of participation of the branch instead of the parent company, as they permit the re-interpretation of parties' submissions as well as correction of the parties' designation throughout the ongoing litigation. The right resolution in the majority of cases in which a branch of a foreign entrepreneur becomes a party to the civil lawsuit seems to be to empower the court to make its own interpretation as to the designation of a branch as an alleged “party to the proceedings” and to uphold the proceedings.
actions involving the UK and the rest-EU Member States. The article is focused on the regulatory risk within the framework of the Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters (JCCM), encompassing the EU common private international law (PIL) provisions. Some misapprehensions about a possible continuity of the cooperation based on the existing PIL international treaties (e.g. the Lugano Conventions or the 1980 Rome Convention) on the one hand, and the deficiencies of the post-Amsterdam JCCM legislative mechanisms on the other hand, have been considered. The current European legislative policy dramatically lacks consistency even with regard to the EU countries which have not been vested with a special status comparable to the UK, Ireland, or Denmark. Thus the article suggests a possibility of restructuring the JCCM so as to encourage the UK to cooperate with the EU in the form of a ‘Continental PIL Partnership.’
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The judgment in case C-350/14, Lazar, concerns determination of the law applicable to compensation for the relatives of the victim of a road traffic accident. The interpretation of Article 4 of the Rome II Regulation given in the judgment is based on the assumption that in principle this issue should – just as all aspects of a given event – be governed by the one and same law, determined by the connecting factor of the place of the direct damage suffered by the main victim (lex loci damni directi). In other words, the damage suffered by relatives has been characterized as indirect consequences of that event within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the Regulation. Admittedly, such an attitude is not uncontroversial, given the distinct character of the violation of personality rights of the family members of the originally aggrieved person; however, it ensures the desired uniformity of the legal regime applicable to the legal assessment of the accident giving rise to the tortfeasor’s civil liability. From this point of view, the answer, notwithstanding the various objections, should ultimately be regarded as correct. In cases of claims arising from road traffic accidents, the judgment is also of great value to courts adjudicating in those Member States which – like Poland – are bound by the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Traffic Accidents.
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The discussed judgment of the Court of Justice in the case C-135/15, Nikiforidis concerns the function fulfilled by foreign overriding mandatory provisions in the light of one of the basic instruments of European private international law: the Rome I Regulation. It may arouse the interest of a wider audience for at least two reasons: firstly, because it provides guidance on the uniform and autonomous interpretation of EU secondary legislation within the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; and secondly, due to the fact that it reveals surprising links between the conflict of laws and the regulations pursuing the objectives of protecting fiscal stability in the Eurozone. A restrictive interpretation by the Court of Justice of Article 9(3) of the Rome I Regulation has at first glance been undermined through a backdoor introduction of a possibility of taking into account, as a matter of fact, of overriding mandatory provisions of third countries other than the place of performance. The apparent dissonance in the Court of Justice’s position can be explained by the necessity to reconcile the letter of the legislative compromise that underlies the whole Article 9 of the Rome I Regulation on the one hand, and, on the other hand, awareness of the common financial interests of the Member States belonging to the Eurozone.
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The paper discusses the CJEU judgment of 10 December 2015, C-594/14, Kornhaas. It established the admissibility of pursuing claims against the director of an insolvent company for reimbursement of wrongful payments under the law in force in a country where its center of main interests (COMI) is located, pursuant to the conflict-of-law rule of the Council Regulation No. 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings (now replaced by the Regulation No. 2015/848). The Court’s answer, favoring the characterization of the liability of the company’s management within the scope of the law applicable to insolvency, at first glance deviates from previous case law (especially judgments in C-208/00, Überseering and C-167/01, Inspire Art); however, it becomes more understandable in the context of what is known as “regulatory arbitration” within the EU company law. The weakness of the judgment is undoubtedly the lack of general guidelines regarding the conflict-of-law characterization of similar claims in cases of the company’s insolvency, if the connection with its possible final bankruptcy is only indirect; all of this suggests that in the future the above-mentioned issues will require further clarification.
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Dwa wyroki: polskiego Sądu Najwyższego RP z 17 września 2014 r., I CSK 555/13 ("Bilety na Mistrzostwa EURO 2012") oraz Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej z dnia 28 lipca 2016 r. W sprawie C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation przeciwko Amazon EU Sàrl, rzucają nieco światła na rolę wyboru prawa dla umów konsumenckich. Wskazują one na jednoznacznie błędną decyzję europejskiego prawodawcy, zgodnie z którą wybór prawa dla zobowiązań umownych pozostaje głównym łącznikiem umów konsumenckich w prawie kolizyjnym. Stanowisko polskiego Sądu Najwyższego, choć na pierwszy rzut oka bardzo odległe od litery prawa unijnego, faktycznie potwierdza, że klauzula wyboru prawa w ogólnych warunkach umów może budzić wątpliwości co do jej zgodności z dyrektywą 93/13 o nieuczciwych warunkach w umowach konsumenckich. W tym kontekście zastrzeżenia Trybunału Sprawiedliwości UE co do skuteczności wyboru prawa, wyrażone w wyroku w sprawie VKI, stają się jaśniejsze. Ogólnie rzecz biorąc, wymaganie od sądu ustalenia treści zobowiązania wynikającego z umowy konsumenckiej w oparciu o „prawny miks” przepisów najbardziej korzystnych dla konsumenta podważa pewność prawa i skuteczność ochrony sądowej na rynku wewnętrznym.
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Zwei Urteile: des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs vom 17. September 2014, I CSK 555/13 (Tickets für die EURO 2012-Meisterschaft) und des Gerichtshofs der Europäischen Union vom 28.7.2016 in der Rs. C-191/15, Verein für Konsumenteninformation ./. Amazon EU Sàrl beleuchten die Rolle der Rechtswahl in Verbraucherverträgen. Sie zeigen die eindeutig falsche Entscheidung des europäischen Gesetzgebers, die Rechtswahl für vertragliche Verpflichtungen zum Hauptanknüpfung für Verbraucherverträge im IPR zu machen. Die Ansicht des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs, obwohl auf den ersten Blick sehr weit vom Buchstaben des EU-Rechts entfernt, bestätigt tatsächlich, dass die Rechtswahlklausel in AGB Zweifel an der Einhaltung der Richtlinie 93/13 über mißbräuchliche Klauseln in Verbraucherverträgen aufkommen lassen kann. In diesem Zusammenhang werden die im VKI-Urteil dargelegten Einwände des EuGH gegen die Wirksamkeit der Rechtswahl deutlicher. Im Allgemeinen untergräbt die Forderung von einem Gericht, den Inhalt der Verpflichtung aus dem Verbrauchervertrag auf der Grundlage des für den Verbraucher günstigsten "Rechtsmix" von Bestimmungen zu konstruieren, die Rechtssicherheit und die Effektivität des Rechtsschutzes im Binnenmarkt .
The article discusses issues that are fundamental to shaping the future of private international law: the phenomenon of migration and the so-called multicentricity of creation and application of law. The subject matter of the discussion is the evolution of Savigny’s classical paradigm of private international law as an “arbitrator” between the legal systems of nation states. Modern migrations are characterized by multidirectional population flows and decreasing stability of links between a person and a specific territory; in turn, multicentricity entails the obligation to constantly reconcile various legal rules coming from various law-making centres. The author does not question the advantages of Karl Friedrich von Savigny’s concept, but considers it necessary to reconcile it with the increasingly complicated and eclectic structure of private international law in the first half of the 21st century. The concept of the so-called sovereignty of an individual – an increased importance of individual values at the expense of collective, nation-wide or general public values – causes significant confusion about the concept of “conflict-of-law justice” based on the idea of a “spatially better” law, that is, the closest connection between law and a particular case. Such a specific concept, when confronted with increasingly complex legal structures of today’s world, is experiencing a significant crisis. The term “law of conflict” ceases to be reserved for private international law only, just as conflicts of laws cease to arise only at cross-border level. The solution might consist in turning back to the doctrine of natural law and thus departing from a strictly positivist vision of conflict-law as a finite set of simple rules used to attribute relations to relevant national law systems. Although international private law will certainly not forget about von Savigny, we can assume that it no longer belongs to his legacy.
While these agreements have already been completed and expired at the international law level, they have had lasting legal effects that require analysis. The implementation of these agreements in the internal legal order, in accordance with the assumptions of the Polish authorities, takes place under the Act of 9 April 1968 on making entries in the land and mortgage registers for the State Treasury based on international agreements on the settlement of financial claims. As a result of the examination of the theory and practice of implementing this Act, it should be concluded that the payment of compensation under indemnity contracts could not and cannot lead to the state acquiring property of foreigners' property. This legal effect depends on the Polish internal law applicable to property rights on the basis of conflict of law provisions.
Effective nationalization of property cannot be ruled out as leading to a state acquisition of property. Nevertheless, during the Polish People's Republic there could have been (and indeed were) situations of confiscation of private property that did not meet the conditions for nationalization according to the then law (i.e. it did not fall under the legal instruments regarding nationalization). In such cases, preventing the return of property or paying compensation to former owners would require demonstrating an alternative condition for the acquisition of ownership by the State Treasury. Such a basis, however, cannot be provided by either foreign law or indemnity agreements as specific acts of international law, in accordance with the rule of jurisdiction lex rei sitae with regard to assets located in the country.
Relying on the final indication of Polish law as the authoritative source of property settlement, it must still be sought in the norms of property law, especially those providing for the waiver of property ownership, taking into account the norms of Polish intermittent law. The mere entry of the Treasury as the owner in the land and mortgage register, based on a decision of the Minister of Finance, does not constitute a change in the legal status of real estate in Poland.
In the judicial practice of Polish common courts there is a statistically significant tendency to reject the suit every time when a branch of an enterprise participates in the proceedings. Not only does it hamper the international legal transactions, but also it occurs defective in the light of both the Polish and foreign laws. The courts of many countries, including among others the Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Austria, Italian Republic and the United States of America, are trying to convalidate proceedings impaired because of participation of the branch instead of the parent company, as they permit the re-interpretation of parties' submissions as well as correction of the parties' designation throughout the ongoing litigation. The right resolution in the majority of cases in which a branch of a foreign entrepreneur becomes a party to the civil lawsuit seems to be to empower the court to make its own interpretation as to the designation of a branch as an alleged “party to the proceedings” and to uphold the proceedings.
actions involving the UK and the rest-EU Member States. The article is focused on the regulatory risk within the framework of the Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters (JCCM), encompassing the EU common private international law (PIL) provisions. Some misapprehensions about a possible continuity of the cooperation based on the existing PIL international treaties (e.g. the Lugano Conventions or the 1980 Rome Convention) on the one hand, and the deficiencies of the post-Amsterdam JCCM legislative mechanisms on the other hand, have been considered. The current European legislative policy dramatically lacks consistency even with regard to the EU countries which have not been vested with a special status comparable to the UK, Ireland, or Denmark. Thus the article suggests a possibility of restructuring the JCCM so as to encourage the UK to cooperate with the EU in the form of a ‘Continental PIL Partnership.’
The issue of gestational surrogacy is a serious challenge to Polish and foreign law. The article deals with the difficult questions of the assumptions and the scope of application of the public policy exception in cases before the Polish courts and authorities - especially in the procedure of the transcription of foreign birth certificates and certifying the Polish nationality acquired by a child born of a surrogate mother and genetically related to his or her sociological parents. Numerous inconsistencies of reasoning in Polish case law and the doctrine of international family law rise doubts about the correctness of the application of the 'ordre public' in most cases of recent years.
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The book is a systematic explanation of the provisions of the Polish-Ukrainian bilateral agreement on legal assistance and legal relations, which concerns the jurisdiction of courts and authorities, the recognition and enforcement of judgments and the applicable law in matters of civil and criminal law between the two countries, as well as legal assistance and the course of legal actions in proceedings involving Ukrainian entities in Poland or Polish entities in Ukraine. The commentary will especially help judges, employees of public administration bodies and attorneys of the parties in resolving current problems in Polish-Ukrainian cross-border proceedings.