POLAND 6.Legal and regulatory framework


6.1 Are there any other FDI-specific laws that foreign investors must be aware of? According to the Act on Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, there is a general rule that foreigners (foreign natural persons, foreign legal entities, but also domestic entities controlled by foreigners) may acquire real estate in Poland or shares in the company owning real estate in Poland, only on the basis of prior permits issued by the minister of foreign affairs. However, with few exceptions, restrictions stipulated by such Act do not apply to entities from the EEA.


6.2 What challenges if any do investors find in getting certainty around local law and regulation? Poland is often considered to be an FDI-friendly location, due to economic and political stability, human capital and a large domestic market. In order to increase trust in the legal system, Poland has introduced regulations that allow investors to apply for binding legal interpretations (including tax issues). Those who receive such interpretations may not be punished for conduct complying with the issued interpretation. The government has evaluated possible challenges to foreign investors – detailed information on this matter may be found in the document Obstacles to foreign direct investments in Poland issued by PAIiIZ (available at the Agency’s website).


7 Dispute resolution


7.1 How efficient are local courts’ enforcement and dispute resolution proceedings, and are there any procedural idiosyncrasies foreign investors must be aware of? There are no specific features of court procedures that could be particularly challenging to foreign investors, and Polish courts’ efficiency is similar to other developed countries. It should be stated however, that Poland remains within the remit of the continental civil-law system, which may not be familiar to entrepreneurs from the common-law area.


7.2 Do the courts of the FDI jurisdiction respect foreign judgments and are arbitration awards enforceable in the jurisdiction? Both arbitration awards and foreign judgments are generally enforceable in Poland; but enforcement of such rulings requires certification by Polish courts. Polish regulations regarding arbitration implement United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (Uncitral) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. As for foreign European rulings enforcement, Poland is subject to the European Union Council (EC) Regulation 44/2001 of December 22 2000, and the Lugano Convention of October 30 2007 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (covering European Union countries, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland). Finally, the Polish Code of Civil Procedure provides provisions regarding certifying foreign judgments from states other than those mentioned above.


7.3 Are judgments and arbitration awards from the FDI jurisdiction generally enforceable in other jurisdictions? Polish courts’ judgments are generally enforceable in jurisdictions of other European Union countries, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland, on the basis of the above EC Regulation 44/2001 and the Lugano Convention. In general, Polish judgment enforcement in other countries depends on the law of the country of enforcement. For example, there is no international treaty between Poland and the United States regarding the recognition and enforcement of judgments in commercial matters, so in such cases the US law applies.


Zbigniew Drzewiecki Managing partner, Drzewiecki Tomaszek & Partners


Warsaw, Poland T: +48 22 840 95 00 E: drzewiecki@dt.com.pl W: www.dt.com.pl


About the author Founding and managing partner of Drzewiecki Tomaszek & Partners, Zbigniew Drzewiecki specialises in dispute resolution, real estate and capital markets. He has been a recommended lawyer in real-estate law according to the rankings of Rzeczpospolita (a leading Polish newspaper) in the years 2007-2012, in the rankings of the Polish edition of Forbes Magazine for the years 2010 and 2011, and in Chambers Europe 2012. He has also been recommended in the area of litigation by The Legal 500 and by Chambers & Partners in 2011 and 2012. Drzewiecki is an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan, and the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Bank Association. He has repeatedly been elected as a delegate of the Warsaw Bar at the National Congress of the Polish Bar, as well as a member of the High Audit Committee of the Polish Bar. In 2011, he was elected a judge at the High Disciplinary Court of the Polish Bar.


Drzewiecki speaks Polish, English and Russian.


Tomasz Ludwik Krawczyk Partner, Drzewiecki Tomaszek & Partners


Warsaw, Poland T: +48 22 840 95 00 E: krawczyk@dt.com.pl W: www.dt.com.pl


About the author Tomasz Ludwik Krawczyk earned his doctorate of Laws at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw and has been a partner at Drzewiecki Tomaszek & Partners since 2008. He specialises in company law, M&A and real estate, and is head of the firm’s corporate department. Krawczyk has served clients innumerous projects covering all aspects of company law,foreign direct investments, and in the resolution ofnumerous legal disputes. Recently he has advised on the share sale ofthe country’s leading publisher of telephone books, and the sale and lease-back of office buildings with a value of nearly €170million. He has also advised several foreigndevelopers in the development projects, and successfully represented a foreign national telecom operator in an antitrust case.


Krawczyk speaks Polish (mother tongue), English and German. 48 IFLR REPORT | FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 2014 WWW.IFLR.COM


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