Czy potrzebna jest kolejna nowelizacja przepisów o przedawnieniu konsumenckim?

Abstrakt

The provisions of the Polish Civil Code (CC) on limitation periods prove problematic for the assertion by consumers of their claims against entrepreneurs when the entrepreneur uses unfair terms in consumer contracts creating long-term legal relationships. A consumer's claim for reimbursement of an undue performance made on the basis of an unfair term may become time-barred before the consumer becomes aware of the unfair nature of the term, as the provisions of CC in no way link the commencement of the running of the limitation period for consumer claims to the consumer's awareness of the unfair nature of the term (see Article 120 sec. 1 of CC). The Court of Justice of the EU has stated that such an effect of national statutes of limitation is incompatible with the principle of effectiveness of EU law. The Polish Supreme Court is attempting to interpret the provisions of CC on the statute of limitations for consumer claims in such a way as to remain in line with the position of the CJEU, but observation of these efforts by the Supreme Court forces one to ask whether its position is still an interpretation of the provisions of CC on the statute of limitations, or rather an adjudication on the basis of the CJEU jurisprudence, disregarding the Polish provisions on the commencement of the limitation period. The paper identifies benchmarks for possible amendments to the provisions on the commencement of the limitation period for consumer claims for undue performance.