Polish courts clogged with cases

New estimates indicate that 2013 will see 2 million more cases go to court in Poland than in the previous year. Some 16 million cases are expected to go to court this year. 



According to research by the Rzeczpospoilita daily, the sharp increase is largely due to the rise in numbers of plaintiffs pursuing outstanding invoices, as well as cases connected with the introduction of speed cameras.

There has also been a sharp rise in Poles taking people to court for harassment: cases connected with stalking were uncommon until recent years.

Judge Jerzy Pakosinski has noted that with the credit crunch, problems concerning matters such as road construction have had a domino effect.

There is a tendency for several parties to launch individual lawsuits in pursuit of unpaid bills, all the way down to the supplier of gravel.

"In the past, business-owners who had worked together rarely went to court for matters such as the payment of overdue interest and invoices," Pakosinski reflected.

"They just got on with the next next commission, because they were more interested in signing the next contract than with submitting a claim."

At present, the average duration of a case concerning financial matters is two years, although in Warsaw it is three.

(nh)