On 15 May 2025 Supreme Court composed of seven judges, in the case of act III CZP 22/24 has adopted a resolution on a significant legal issue relating to the interruption of the limitation period by submitting a request for a settlement attempt. The ruling concerned the provisions applicable to 30 June 2022
The Supreme Court has determined that the call for a settlement trial on the basis of Article 184 k.p.c. normally interrupted the limitation period, according to Article 123(1)(1) k.c. However, the effectiveness of this action depends on its actual purpose. In particular, the court in subsequent proceedings (most often for payment) may assess whether the creditor was actually pursuing the claim or whether its sole purpose was to artificially extend the limitation period.
The adoption of the resolution was due to doubts arising from the previous provision of the SN from 13 December 2023 (reference no. II CSKP 1784/22), in which it was asked whether the court was each time obliged to assess the motivation of the creditor when requesting a settlement attempt.
The Supreme Court noted that, while the rules do not prohibit the repeated use of a summons institution, their instrumental use to interrupt the statute of limitations – without the intention of a real claim – is an abuse of the law. In the assessment of the SN, such actions would undermine the sense of a limitation institution, leading to a state in which its protective function would be illusory.
In the resolution of the SN, he stressed that although any request for a settlement attempt may in principle terminate the statute of limitations, it is possible (or even necessary) to assess it from the point of view of the actual purpose – whether it served to pursue the claim or merely to fake it.
This resolution is of an orderly nature and aims at harmonising the existing, disunited judicial practice of universal courts. It also confirms the need to prevent the abuse of procedural law in a way that is detrimental to the stability of legal trade.