Statement MoJ

Information on suspending and discontinuing procedural time limits

03.04.2020

Due to numerous questions and comments, the Ministry of Justice informs that the provisions constituting part of the “Anti-Crisis Shield” concerning the suspension of procedural time limits which have not started to run and the discontinuation of procedural time limits which have started to run have no retroactive effect.

Law should not be applied retroactively. Therefore, the procedural time limits indicated in the special act which were running on the date of the entry into force of the Act, i.e. on 31 March 2020, are discontinued as of 31 March 2020, whereas procedural time limits which would start to run after this date will not start to run until the cancellation of the state of epidemic or the epidemiological threat.

Imposing a retroactive effect on procedural time limits could result in consequences which cannot be reconciled with the principle of a democratic state of law because in many cases irreversible consequences may already have occurred, for example the implementation of plans of distribution of amounts obtained from the enforcement,
eviction from a dwelling unit, entering entities into a register, etc. However, if, due to reasons not attributable to a party (e.g. quarantine), the party did not comply with the procedural time limit, they may request that it be reinstated under Article 168 of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure. The provision stipulates that if a party did not perform in due time an action connected with legal proceedings without their own fault, the court will decide to reinstate the time limit at their request.

from:
Office of Communication and Promotion
Ministry of Justice