Introduction
to Polish Private
International Law
4th Classes
Dr. Mateusz Pilich
Chair of Int’l Private and Trade Law,
University of Warsaw
Multi-Jurisdictional
(Composed/Non-Unified)
Legal Systems
Case Studies
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Case study No. 1
A Spanish national, who was born and was living for years in
Barcelona, dies intestate as an owner of a house nearby
Warsaw. Which law governs the inheritance?
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Case study No. 1
A Lebanese married couple with the domicile in Poland wants
to divorce by mutual consent. The husband is Muslim, the
wife belongs to the Chaldean Christian Church (one of the
Catholic Eastern Churches). Should the court divorce the
spouses?
Roots of the Phenomenon
of Multi-law Jurisdictions
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Polish conflicts law tends to designate the law of the country as a
whole (what is a 'country' for the PIL?)
A Polish judge only rarely is acquainted with the local relationships
and their complexity
Laws within the country may diverge according to the criteria of:
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Territorial nature – States' succession (Poland after the 1st WW), real
union (the UK), regional autonomy (Spain), federal political system (the
USA)
Personal nature – different religions, ethnic or caste provenience, etc.
Sometimes also the intertemporal aspects are at stake (see the
reunification of Germany after 1989)
How to Solve
Internal Conflicts of Laws?
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Article 9 PIL: the law of the country in question specifies which of several
internal private laws governs the question
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We look for an interregional/interpersonal conflicts rules, be it statutory or
not – similar to the renvoi au second degré (transmission to the 3rd law)
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Case study No. 1: law of the deceased's nationality (Spanish law) – we look at
Article 14(1) and 16(1)(1) Codigo Civil – the law of 'legal residence' of the person
(la vecindad civil) applies
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Case study No. 2: attitude towards the religion as connecting factor in the Near
East, see Regulation No. 60 of the French High Commissioner for Lebanon of
13/03/1936 – any person subject to the law of his/her religious community,
CCEO applicable to Catholic Christians
Problematic Issues

Connecting factors designating the law applicable immediately
(e.g. domicile/habitual residence of a natural person, seat of a moral
person, place where of performance of a juridical act)
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Article 9 PILA most specifically dedicated to issues for which the law of
one's nationality designed applicable
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Solutions adopted under the international conventions and EU
regulations (examples: Articles 16 and 17 of the 2007 Hague
Maintenance Protocol; Article 22 of the Rome I Reg.)
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Countries without internal conflicts rules, e.g. the USA – the most
closely connected law applies (Article 9, 2nd sentence PILA)
Incidental Question
Case Study
An American national resident in the state of
New York, who owned immovables in Warsaw, dies
intestate. Pretended heirs are: his last wife and two
daughters born from the first marriage. The ex-wife
claims that the latter marriage was null and void,
the divorce was illegal, and she should inherit
property of the deceased. Which law governs the
question?
Nature of the Incidental Question
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"Incidental question" – an independent relationship which serves as a
precondition for some other relationship, right or status (the latter
otherwise called a "principal question") and hence requiring a solution in
the first place
E.g. recognition of the divorce and validity of the last marriage are
"incidental questions" in a succession case
Quite often it has only the procedural dimension (the recognition of the
foreign judgment, e.g. of the divorce decree)
In the strictly understood conflict of laws, an incidental question arises only
after the law applicable to the principal question has been specified
Law applicable to the incidental question is not governed by the same law
as applied to the principal question
When Does It Really Matter?
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Problem: if the law applicable to the principal question is foreign law,
do we have to apply conflicts rule of the forum (here: the Polish one –
independent connection), or should it be rather the conflicts rule of
the foreign law (dependent connection) in question?
Applying foreign conflicts rules may sometimes prevent the Polish judge
from invalidating the relationship or status in question
In our case:
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The principal question (succession after the deceased American) governed by
foreign law – e.g. of the state of Oklahoma
The answer to the question which law applies potentially differs (validity of
marriage is governed by the law of one's nationality according to the Polish PIL
but under the New York law it is generally the law of the country where the
ceremony has taken place)
Time Factor
in the Conflict of Laws
The Impact of Time Factor
on the Conflict of Laws
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The time may impact the connection between the situation in
question and the law applicable to it in two dimensions:
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in a larger sense – the conflict law in a country of the court's
seat may change (e.g. replacing the old Polish PIL Act in 2011,
adopting new European Regulations)
in a stricter sense – the parties or authorities of a state may
impact on the connection (e.g. a party who had the nationality
of a country A may acquire citizenship of a country B, he or she
may move an object of rights, etc.)
Legislative Changes
in the Conflict of Laws
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Well-established principle of non-retroactivity of laws:
 Article 3 of the Polish Civil Code: The statute shall have no
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retroactive effect, unless it results from its wording or
purpose.
Article 2 of the Polish Constitution: The Republic of Poland is a
democratic State ruled by law and implementing principles of
social justice.
Prospective effect of the new law – to apply it to factual situations
which were completed after its enactment
E.g. the SC judg. 14/2/2013, II CSK 294/12, OSP [Polish Courts
Case Law] 2014/1, issue 3 – the intertemporal questions of PIL
settled in accordance with the general principles of intertemporal
law, as enshrined in the Civil Code and its Introductory Law
Change of the Connecting Factor
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Plays a role only if the connecting factor is variable (each and
every law applicable is taken into account):
 Article 11(1) PILA: law of one's nationality from any particular
moment governs the capacity of a natural person
 Article 51 PILA: law of the spouses' common current nationality
governs the effects of marriage (except for marital agreements)
The immutable (invariable) applicable law – if it is provided for
the application of the law from a particular moment in time (e.g. the
moment of birth, conclusion of marriage, one's death, etc.), e.g.
Articles 52(2) or 64 PILA
Judg. SC 15/5/2008, I CSK 541/07, OSNC [SCRep.-Civ.] 2009/9,
issue 125: no legal relevance for the change of the nationality by
the spouses after the conclusion of the marital agreement
Case Studies
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Example No. 1
In mid 2010, a Polish national Maria C. concludes a marital property agreement with
her French husband Sébastien D. Parties choose the regime of the separation of
assets and the French law as applicable. One year later Maria C. acquires also the
French nationality and gives up the nationality of Poland. Does it have any impact on
the law governing marital property?
Example No. 2
An inhabitant of Wroclaw (south-western Poland) Jan S. bought in Poland a well-kept
BMW car with "German papers" at favorable price. After two-year period of its
possession in Poland he left for Switzerland, where he spent one year and a half. One
day, when he was coming back to Poland, his car was stopped and seized by the
German police because it had probably been stolen on the territory of the
Bundesrepublik. May Jan S. claim it back on the assumption of the bona fide threeyear possession (Article 169(2), 174 of Polish Civ.c.), taking into consideration that
the Swiss Zivilgesetzbuch provides for a much longer, five-year usucapion period?
Case Study No. 1
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At the time Maria C. entered into the marital agreement,
the current Law of 2011 had not yet been in force (it
was enacted on 16/05/2011)
The old Law of 1965 did not foresee the professio iuris
(choice of law by the parties) for marital contracts
Connecting factors of Article 17 PILA 1965: common
nationality at the time of entering into agreement 
common domicile  lex fori
After the enactment of the new Law nothing has
changed, it is still governed by the law as of the day the
marital agreement was concluded
Case Study No. 2
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The car has been moved through the state frontiers
Article 41 PILA operates with a variable connecting factor
(lex situs rei from each and every time)
The Polish and Swiss Civil Codes do not provide for equal
periods of the possession in order to acquire a title on a
movable (Poland – 3 years, Switzerland – 5 years)
In Poland, the period had not expired yet, in Switzerland
the case was similar
Jan S. has not acquired the car's ownership
Thanks for your attention!