|
Opublikowano 23 stycznia 2012 r. na Business Law Blog The class action regulation in Poland, known as the “Ustawa o dochodzeniu roszczeń w postępowaniu grupowym” (“Act on Group Proceedings”), based substantially on the Swedish Act of 2002, came into force on July 2010. This article summarizes the first impressions on the regulation and tries to answer whether this bill is a milestone in the Polish legal system or just a useless procedural tool which does not have a bigger social and economic impact. The article concentrates on two significant issues: Limitations of the Act, and Polish Class Action in relation to Polish Substantive Law Limitations of the Act The ratio legis behind the above limitations was to exclude the possibility of blackmails through class actions which seems to be common in the United States. However, the first statistics[1] show that the above considerations were exaggerated and in the Polish system the risk of such abuse is not significant. The specificity of the Polish legal system, the stage of economic development, as well as specific mentality of the society, restrain such actions. Thus, restricted limitations imposed by the Act result only in deprivation of individual rights in wide range of cases. Polish Class Action v. Polish Substantive Law Summary Piotr Terlecki is an attorney-at-law / legal counsel (adwokat / radca prawny), managing partner at Terlecki & Partners Law Firm (Terlecki & Wspólnicy Kancelaria Prawna sp.k.), PhD candidate at Warsaw University (Civil Procedure Faculty). Piotr specializes in litigation, contract law, real estate investments and bankruptcy proceedings. You will find more details about Piotr at www.terlecki.eu.pl; www.pozwy-grupowe.net, as well as on his blog: www.piotrterlecki.bblog.pl [1] http://www.rjgaudet.com/?p=765 |