Online hearings streamline international cases
Jakub Kulicki
by Jakub Kulicki
The Covid-19 pandemic completely opened the doors for online court hearings across the globe. During the pandemic, both courts and lawyers had time to test and adjust to this new tool. Online hearings have become a key part of the Polish judicial system, and from March they became a mainstay of the Code of Civil Procedure.
New regulations
According to new regulations, online hearings will be possible in all cases save for some specific situations. Implementing this new legislation is a step in the right direction, especially helping to streamline international cases. Prior to these regulations, cases which required witness testimony from a foreigner living abroad were either prolonged for months (in order to translate questions for such a person, send the request to the relevant authorities, and then wait for the minutes from the hearing to be sent back to Poland and then translated again); or that person had to travel to Poland in person, raising the costs of the proceedings as a witness’s travel costs were always reimbursed.
Viable alternative
Online hearings are the best alternative when a witness cannot attend the hearing in person; it is far more cost effective, faster than the previously outmoded procedure, and more reliable than written witness testimony (which was added to the Polish Code of Civil Procedure in 2019). All that is needed is for the court to set a date when the person is able to join the online hearing, and to secure a “sworn translator” (an officially certified translator) for that date. Experience shows that conducting witness testimony during an online hearing with the participation of a sworn translator is a viable alternative.
Advantageous development
Although some experts raise concerns that hearing a witness online does not guarantee the same assurance as a hearing conducted in a physical courtroom, the new legislation does allow the parties to the proceedings to object to such witness testimony. After such an objection is lodged, the court is obliged to summon the witness to appear in person in the courtroom.
All in all, the permanent implementation of online hearings into the Polish Code of Civil Procedure is an incredibly advantageous development and has been lauded by business people across the board. It will streamline international cases by shortening proceedings which previously required the in-person court attendance of witnesses living outside the country.
Jakub has a wealth of litigation and dispute resolution experience, with many big-ticket clients across a wide variety of disparate fields from real estate to energy, investment funds to manufacturing.Contact Jakub.
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