Ladies and Gentlemen,
as we previously indicated in the alert of May 19, 2020, available at http://kglegal.pl/2020/05/19/tarcza-anrykryzysowa-3-0-zostala-uchwalona-przedstawiamy-najwazniejsze-zmiany/ , the Act of May 14, 2020, amending certain acts regarding protective measures in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the so-called "Anti-Crisis Shield 3.0," entered into force on May 16, 2020. It has a significant impact on the procedural aspect of ongoing proceedings, as it assumes the resumption of previously suspended deadlines, as well as the commencement of deadlines that could not begin due to COVID-19.
Unfreezing of court proceedings
Pursuant to Article 46, point 20) of Shield 3.0, Article 15 of the Act of March 2, 2020, on special solutions related to the prevention, counteraction, and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and the resulting crisis situations, has been repealed. The repealed article stipulated that court and procedural deadlines in the proceedings listed in the provision do not commence, while those that have commenced are suspended.
Shield 3.0 introduces a kind of "unfreezing" of the procedural sphere of ongoing proceedings, because in accordance with Article 68 paragraphs 6 and 7, time limits in proceedings that have not commenced begin to run after 7 days from the entry into force of this Act, i.e. on May 23, 2020. However, time limits that have been suspended pursuant to the repealed Article 15 zzs resume after 7 days from the date of entry into force of this Act, i.e. they continue to run (but not anew!) also from May 23, 2020. It is extremely important to remember that the resumption of the running of a time limit may fall on a non-working day, but if the expiry of the time limit falls on a non-working day, then the relevant expiry date is the first business day following that day.
Please note that the above provisions only concern procedural law and procedural matters of court proceedings and will therefore not apply to substantive law deadlines such as limitation periods for claims.
Online hearings
A new feature is the introduction of the possibility of conducting public hearings and sessions online , using technical devices enabling remote public hearings with simultaneous direct transmission of video and audio (Articles 15zzs(1) to 15zzs(5)). However, this is an innovative solution, and current regulations do not oblige courts to implement this solution; however, they do open the possibility of using this form of conducting sessions in the future. However, given the infrastructure and technological resources of the courts, it is unknown whether the aforementioned regulations will actually translate into court practice. The legislature certainly envisages such a possibility, and the likelihood of such a solution will increase as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Comment
When the justice system returns to its normal operating mode, courts can be expected to be busier than usual, as ongoing cases will overlap with those suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing courts to process cases more quickly and intensively. However, longer waiting times for a decision will also be inevitable, so it's worth considering initiating court proceedings now to avoid being held up in the queue.
If you are interested in legal advice in the above scope or other anti-crisis shield solutions, please contact us.
This material was prepared on the basis of the Act of 14 May 2020 amending certain acts regarding protective measures in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 875)
