Normative Indication the Method of Taking into Account the Expiration of the Period of Limitation of Claims as a Choice motivated by Social Policy Considerations

Keywords: limitation of claims, social policy, manner of taking into account the expiration of the limitation period, consumer protection

Abstract: The article presents an important aspect of the civil law limitation period of claims, namely whether – and if so, how – the expiration of the limitation period for a claim brought before a court is taken into consideration by the court. This issue is presented in such a way as to show the relationship between the motivation which the legislator is guided by – social
policy considerations – and its choice of the method of taking into account the expiration of the limitation period. The reflections start with a presentation of the subject matter, followed by an indication of the arguments presented in legal literature in support of each of the two competing ways of taking into account the expiration of the limitation period, that is, ex officio or only when the person against whom the claim is due raises an objection. This is done while demonstrating the connections between views in this area and the acceptance of socialist or liberal concepts. Against this background, there are shown changes in solutions in the discussed area related to unwanted social phenomena that appeared in the practice of the use of electronic enforcement procedure provided for by the Polish Code of Civil Procedure. The author also describes the construction, which is strongly motivated by social considerations (presented in the text), introduced by the Act of 13 April 2018 amending the Civil Code, which brings significant changes in the manner of taking into account the expiration of the period of limitation of claims, with the resulting particular dualism in this area of Polish civil law. Among other things, the text discusses the flexibility of the introduced regulation (e.g. stipulating as a rule for the court to take into account the expiration of limitation of claim claimed from the consumers, but with a possibility of departing from the rule). Furthermore, the assumptions indicated in the justification for the aforementioned Act are confronted with the possibility of achieving the desired state thanks to the wording of the provisions introduced by said Act.