Civil Procedure Code amendment—no more rejection of pleadings for trivial reasons
The recent amendment to the Civil Procedure Code repealed a problematic regulation that allowed the courts to reject pleadings. The regulation was abused in practice, delaying court proceedings.
The Act of 5 August 2025 Amending the Civil Procedure Code, the Civil Code and Certain Other Acts, as signed by the President, repeals the controversial Art. 1301a of the Polish Civil Procedure Code.
That provision authorised the courts to reject pleadings due to formal defects. It stated:
Art. 1301a
§ 1.
If a pleading filed by an adwokat, attorney-at-law, patent attorney, or the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland cannot be properly taken up due to failure to comply with formal conditions, the presiding judge shall return the pleading without a summons to correct or supplement it. Mislabelling of a pleading or other obvious imprecision shall not constitute a barrier to taking up the pleading and considering it under the correct procedure.
§2.
The defects constituting the basis for return of the pleading shall be indicated in the order for return of the pleading.
§3.
The party may refile a pleading within one week after service of the order on return of the pleading. If that pleading is free of defects, it shall exert effect from the date of the original filing. This effect shall not occur in the event of further return of the pleading, unless the return occurs due to defects not previously indicated.
The repealed regulation was intended to streamline litigation, but it generated numerous problems in practice. The courts misused this provision, leading to situations where pleadings were returned to the sender for trivial reasons, making it necessary to refile them—often along with a huge number of enclosures (for example, in complex construction cases it might be necessary to refile several boxes of documents). This caused delay in civil proceedings and generated additional Sisyphean tasks for the parties and their counsel. When the statement of claim was returned, it delayed initiation of processing of the case.
The new regulations are intended to make civil proceedings run more efficiently, reduce the amount of formalism, and facilitate the filing of pleadings.
The amendment enters into force on 10 September 2025.
Agata Jóźwiak, attorney-at-law, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration practice, Wardyński & Partners
