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FAQ

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What courts examine commercial cases?

In the Polish court system there are no separate commercial courts and commercial cases are handled by the common courts.

The common courts are divided into divisions depending on the type of cases they handle (e.g. civil division, commercial division, commercial division of the National Court Register, land and mortgage register division, employment division, bankruptcy division, etc.).

Commercial divisions are not present in all district courts. There is usually a commercial division in one district court within the jurisdiction of a regional court. Each regional court has a separate commercial division. Courts of appeal do not have commercial divisions at all and therefore commercial cases are heard in civil divisions of courts of appeal.

A district court will act as a court of first instance in cases concerning proprietary rights where the value of a claim does not exceed PLN 100,000 (€ 22,000). Appeals from first instance decisions issued by commercial divisions of district courts are considered in commercial divisions of regional courts. If, however, a decision has been issued by a regional court acting at first instance, the appeal will be considered by a civil division in a court of appeal.

It should be noted that a commercial case will always be heard in the first instance in a commercial division. If the plaintiff files a statement of claim at the civil division of a competent court, it will be passed automatically.