Preparatory Session in the Polish Civil Procedure and English Pre-action Protocols as Tools for Faster Litigation

Abstract

The introduction of the preparatory session to the Polish civil procedure has raised much doubt. English pre-action protocols perform the same function and are an efficient tools to meet the same goals that were adopted for the preparatory session by the authors of the 2019 Polish reform. However, they are more informal and, in general, not included in the formal court procedure. It will not be possible to assess the effects of the preparatory session until it has been functioning for a longer time in Polish civil procedure. However, certain practical issues may already be expected, most of all in relation to the new role of an arbiter to be played by a judge during the preparatory session and a highly formalized procedure related to the modification of the trial schedule. That being so, most academics believe that the preparatory session will rarely be used by judges in practice.