As of 1 January 2025, the two major Polish arbitration institutions, namely the Arbitration Court at the Polish Chamber of Commerce ("SAKIG") and the Court of Arbitration at the Confederation of Lewiatan ("Lewiatan Court"), have implemented significant changes to their arbitration rules. These changes aim to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of proceedings conducted by these institutions.
Changes to SAKIG’s Arbitration Rules
When introducing changes to the current arbitration rules, SAKIG underlined that in recent years, there has been a notable shift in the way arbitration proceedings have been conducted. User expectations of arbitration institutions and arbitrators have evolved, with a significant increase in awareness of international arbitration practices. To that end, arbitration institutions should aim at providing efficiency.
This update is said to reflect a commitment to modernising the arbitration process and aligning with international best practices, ensuring that the institution remains responsive to the needs of arbitration users and the global arbitration community. To highlight a few of these:
Initiation of proceedings
- Arbitration proceedings can only be initiated through the submission of a mandatory request for arbitration. Previously, parties had the option to commence proceedings either with a statement of claim or a request for arbitration. In practice, it turned out that filing a statement of claim at the outset of the proceedings was ineffective both for the parties and the arbitral tribunals. (§ 20)
- It is not necessary to attach evidence to the request for arbitration. A request for arbitration should clearly identify the parties, specify details of the arbitration agreement, outline the factual and legal grounds for the claim and its value, disclose any third-party funding, and indicate the appointed arbitrator, along with the claimant’s views on proceedings logistics and applicable law. It must be accompanied by a copy of the arbitration agreement, proof of payment for the registration fee, and copies for the respondent and arbitrators. (§ 21)
- The claimant should appoint an arbitrator in the request for arbitration, and the respondent should appoint an arbitrator in the reply to the request for arbitration. If an arbitrator is not appointed within that time frame, the Arbitration Council of SAKIG will appoint one. (§ 21 para. 1 point 8) and § 23 para. 2 point 8) and § 16 paras 1 and 6)
Conduct of the proceedings
- The arbitral tribunals have been authorised to decide that the submissions would be filed exclusively electronically. (§ 10 para. 2)
- Disclosure of third-party funding has become mandatory. (§ 21 para. 1 point 7) and § 23 para. 2 point 7) and § 24)
- As a rule, a counterclaim must be filed in response to the reply to the request for arbitration; thereafter, the consent of the arbitral tribunal is required. The same applies to a set-off defence. It should expedite the proceedings and enhance their effective conduct. (§ 25)
- Hearing is not mandatory (this means that a hearing is conducted if requested by a party – with exceptions – or if the arbitral tribunal deems it appropriate).(§ 34)
- An case management conference should be scheduled promptly, within 14 days from the transmission of the case files to the arbitral tribunal, and if not scheduled, a procedural order 1 (PO1) should be issued within 21 days from the transmission of the files. (§ 32)
- The arbitral tribunal may appoint an expert on its own initiative (ex officio), although it must first seek the parties' opinion. (§ 37 para. 2)
- The award should be issued within 6 months from the date of transmission of the files to the arbitral tribunal, but no later than 2 months from the last day of the hearing or the date of the last submission. (§ 41 para. 3)
- Before signing the award, its draft should be submitted to the Arbitral Court. The Chairperson of the Arbitration Council of SAKIG may submit comments to the Arbitral Tribunal concerning non-substantive aspects of the award to facilitate necessary corrections.(§ 42 para. 2)
Early determination
- A party may request an early determination of any of the parties' claims, defences, or disputed issues if its position is well-founded. The arbitral tribunal must consider not only whether the request is justified but also whether granting it will contribute to increasing the speed and efficiency of the proceedings. The decision may take the form of an award (including a partial or preliminary award) or an order. (§ 29)
Emergency arbitrator
- The arbitration rules introduce the institution of an emergency arbitrator. Before the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, a decision regarding the security of a claim or evidence may be issued by the emergency arbitrator. The Arbitration Council of SAKIG appoints an emergency arbitrator within three business days from the date of the application. (§ 31)
Changes to the Lewiatan Court’s Arbitration Rules
The Lewiatan Court has also introduced changes to its arbitration rules, indicating that it is responding to the expectations of arbitration users while continuously modernising the applicable regulations. These changes reflect a deliberate effort to cater to the evolving needs of arbitration users and align with contemporary standards in dispute resolution. Key changes include:
Initiation of proceedings
- Arbitration proceedings can be initiated through the submission of a request for arbitration or a statement of claim. Before, arbitration proceedings were initiated by the submission of the statement of claim only. This direction is surprising given the change in the SAKIG’s Arbitration Rules and introduction of a mandatory request for arbitration. The Lewiatan Court likely aims to provide parties with flexibility, particularly in smaller proceedings. (§ 3)
Conduct of the proceedings
- The arbitral tribunal will have new powers, allowing it to consider two additional elements when deciding on arbitration costs namely (i) costs associated with third-party funding of the proceedings and (ii) legal representation costs tied to the outcome of the case (success fee). (§ 48 para. 5)
- The arbitral tribunal should issue an award within the month from the date the since when the evidentiary proceedings concluded. The award is rendered within six months from the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal. The President of the Arbitration Court can extend the award deadline upon the tribunal's request, based on case circumstances. Failure to meet the deadline due to the tribunal's fault may impact arbitrators' remuneration. Failure to issue an award within the time limit does not invalidate the arbitration agreement, either in part or in whole, nor does it affect the mandate of the arbitral tribunal to resolve the dispute. (§ 34 and § 39)
- Lewiatan Court offers parties the option of expedited proceedings. More cases will be handled in an expedited manner: the limit for the value of the subject of dispute in this procedure will increase from 50,000 to 200,000 PLN. (§ 5)
- The Lewiatan Court’s Arbitration Rules previously provided for the appointment of an emergency arbitrator to order interim measures and no changes were introduced. The rules do not include a procedure for early determination.
The changes to the arbitration rules of SAKIG and Lewiatan Court should be viewed positively as they align with global trends in international arbitration. The new rules modernise their arbitral procedures by incorporating solutions adopted by other international arbitral institutions and strive to address the needs of sophisticated users of arbitration to have different arbitration tools available. Arbitration institutions in Poland are striving to strengthen their position in the CEE region.