- Regulation of the President of Poland of 24 October 1934, Bankruptcy Law, effective from 1 January 1935.
- It covered merchants, meaning business operators; private individuals had no route to debt relief.
- Repealed on 1 October 2003; consumer bankruptcy has existed in Poland since 31 March 2009, and in its present form since 24 March 2020.
The legislation was entitled ‘Regulation of the President of the Republic of 24 October 1934, Bankruptcy Law’. A regulation, rather than an act: in the 1930s the President could issue provisions with the force of statute, and much of Poland’s commercial law at the time, including the Commercial Code of the same year, was introduced this way. It was published in the Journal of Laws on 27 October 1934.
Bankruptcy under those provisions applied to merchants, or, in today’s language, business operators. A private individual who fell into debt had no route to debt relief through the courts. The provisions survived the war and the entire Polish People’s Republic period, although they were rarely used in the planned economy, and remained in force until 1 October 2003, when the Act of 28 February 2003 replaced them.
Poland had to wait until 31 March 2009 for consumer bankruptcy. That was when the amendment of 5 December 2008 came into force, opening debt relief proceedings to people not conducting business. It was used rarely in the early years because the conditions were strict; the turning point was the change effective from 24 March 2020, which simplified proceedings and deferred assessment of the causes of indebtedness to a later stage.
Consumer bankruptcy is a separate procedure for people who do not run a business. How it works step by step and where to start: Consumer bankruptcy at e‑PGW.
Sources and documents
- Regulation of the President of the Republic of 24 October 1934, Bankruptcy Law, Journal of Laws 1934 No. 93, item 834, eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/1934/834.
- Act of 28 February 2003, Bankruptcy Law, Journal of Laws 2003 No. 60, item 535, eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2003/535.
- Act of 5 December 2008 amending the Bankruptcy and Reorganisation Law and the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases, Journal of Laws 2008 No. 234, item 1572, eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2008/1572.
- Act of 30 August 2019 amending the Bankruptcy Law and certain other acts, Journal of Laws 2019, item 1802, eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2019/1802.
- Illustration: Bankruptcy Law, 1934. Journal of Laws No. 93, item 834. Authorship: the authority issuing the act, as stated in the publication. The complete first page of the published text, rendered from the official PDF without removing content. Rights: official material; do not claim a CC licence., Illustration provenance.
- Supplementary illustration: Tomasz Silarski giving evidence at the Brest trial, 1931–1932. National Digital Archives. Context for the place, person or period, not a photograph of the event on the date in the title. Provenance and restrictions: Tomasz Silarski, 1931–1932, reference 3/1/0/3/600/39; public-domain declaration., Illustration provenance.
- Ilustracje: Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście, 1930s. Photograph: Henryk Poddębski. National Library of Poland; President Ignacy Mościcki during an audience, May 1934. National Digital Archives; Bankruptcy Law, 1934. Journal of Laws No. 93, item 834; Tomasz Silarski giving evidence at the Brest trial, 1931–1932. National Digital Archives.
This article is historical and informational and does not constitute legal advice.