Publication date: February 6, 2026

In cross-border trade, businesses often opt for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, such as international arbitration. This solution ensures, above all, a more neutral, faster, more flexible, and highly professional procedure. Naturally, in such a situation, the parties do not want to be at the mercy of a domestic court, foreign laws, unfamiliar traditions, doctrines, and established interpretations. Hence the need to submit the dispute to resolution by one or more arbitrators appointed by the parties from among global experts in their respective fields of business. The fundamental condition for such a solution is an arbitration agreement (the terms “arbitration court” and “arbitral tribunal” are often used interchangeably and refer to the same body resolving disputes through arbitration), included either in the initial agreement or in a separate agreement between the parties, which specifies the legal relationship from which the dispute arises or may arise. Obtaining an arbitration award does not, however, definitively conclude the case, but rather initiates the sometimes problematic issue of enforcing such an award in domestic courts. A foreign creditor who obtains an arbitration award that obligates a Polish entity to pay can generally expect its recognition and enforcement in a Polish domestic court.

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Publication date: January 19, 2026

What is the place of delivery/place of performance?

Article 5, paragraph 1 of the VAT Act

The following are subject to value added tax (VAT):

1) paid supply of goods and paid provision of services within the territory of the country;

2) export of goods;

3) import of goods within the territory of the country;

4) intra-Community acquisition of goods for remuneration within the territory of the country; 5) intra-Community supply of goods.

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Publication date: January 16, 2026

Prepared by Konrad Byrski, KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI KG LEGAL

One of our lawyers, Konrad Byrski, had recently the opportunity to participate in the Legal and Psychological Congress, which aimed to exchange views, discuss and present interesting issues regarding the participation of expert psychologists and psychiatrists in various types of proceedings provided for in the Polish legal system and basic institutions that include an emphasis on psychological sciences.

The topic of his presentation was the institution of incapacitation, periods of momentary consciousness of a mentally ill person (the so-called “lucidum intervallum”) and their impact on the performance of legal acts, as well as the institution of total and partial incapacitation with a strong emphasis on the draft act on instruments of supported decision-making, which put the existence of these two institutions in uncertainty in the near future.

This article will explore the draft of this bill. It will discuss the reasons for these likely changes, the new regulations it provides, and its implications for individuals already subject to various forms of incapacitation.

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Publication date: January 05, 2026

A documentary letter of credit (L/C) is a form of non-cash monetary settlement made through a bank. It serves to protect the interests of the parties in commercial transactions, particularly in sales contracts. Its essence is the bank’s commitment to pay an appropriate amount of money upon receipt of specific documents, which are assumed to constitute confirmation of the obligation’s fulfillment. The use of letters of credit is now standard in international trade.

General information

From a legal perspective, a documentary letter of credit is a legal relationship between the parties (in the example of a sales contract) the importer (buyer), the exporter (seller), and the bank issuing the letter of credit (buyer’s bank). In some cases, the exporter may wish to utilize the services of its own bank, which can collect the letter of credit documents from the exporter or confirm the letter of credit (intermediary bank). In the sales contract (underlying agreement), the buyer and seller specify that payment for the goods will be made via letter of credit and specify which documents the seller will need to submit to the bank to receive the funds. The agreement commits one party (usually the buyer) to conclude a letter of credit agreement with a specific bank under specific terms. After issuing the letter of credit, the buyer deposits funds. After the seller obtains the documents specified in the sales contract, they submit them to the bank (directly or through an intermediary bank). After the bank examines the documents, the importer receives the funds immediately or after a period specified in the letter of credit agreement. The bank’s obligation to pay the funds is abstract in nature, which means that their payment is not dependent in any way on the underlying agreement, but only on the presentation of the relevant documents.

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Publication date: December 12, 2025

The right to withdraw from a contract, which may result from a statute or other generally applicable act or from a contractual provision between the parties, also requires analysis in terms of the type of relationship (B2B, B2C). When it comes to relationships between businesses and consumers, the most important legal acts regulating such relationships in a cross-border context are European regulations, in particular Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (hereinafter: Directive 2011/83/EU).

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