New Provisions of Polish Law Concerning Arbitration : selected issues

Nowadays arbitration proceedings are considered to be one of the most popular methods of resolving legal disputes. The most important advantages are usually associated with the speed and flexibility of the procedure, confidentiality, a professional board of arbitrators and the relatively (in comparison with court litigation) low costs of the proceedings. The growing application of arbitration particularly in commercial disputes was the main reason for introducing necessary changes into the Polish law provisions relating to arbitration. The new provisions of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure concerning arbitration came into force in 17th October 2005.1 These provisions are included in the new part five of the Code of Civil Procedure titled “Arbitration”.2 The new regulation is recognized as an essential change since it not only meets the requirements of entrepreneurs but also takes into consideration international arbitration standards, in particular the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.3 This article is focused on presenting the most important changes in the field of arbitration relating, in particular, to an arbitration agreement and the principles of arbitration procedure.