International affairs
Polish law provides for the possibility of a Polish citizen obtaining a divorce outside the country. The procedure for recognizing a divorce judgment issued by a foreign court depends on the date of its issuance and whether it was issued by a court of a Member State of the European Union or by a court of a non-EU country. Polish law provides for separate procedures allowing for the recognition of this judgment in Poland:
Divorce judgments handed down by the courts of EU Member States
EU Member States are obliged to automatically recognize divorce judgments under Council Regulation No. 2201/2003 of 27 November on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility. Therefore, for a divorce adjudicated in the territory of the European Union after Poland’s accession (1 May 2004), it is not required to conduct proceedings before a Polish court to recognize the divorce judgment – it is enough to register the divorce with the Registry Office.
Divorce judgments issued by courts of non-EU countries after 1 July 2009
Under the 1970 Hague Convention for the Recognition of Divorce and Separation, decisions of the authorities of these countries on divorce and separation issued since 2 July 2009 may also be recognized under the simpler procedure of the Code of Civil Procedure, i.e. directly, subject only to the registration procedure at the Registry Office.
Judgments issued before those dates
These judgments may only be recognized in Poland as a result of proceedings in a regional court having jurisdiction over the current or last place of residence. An application for recognition, together with attachments, may be submitted personally, through a person residing in Poland (with an additional power of attorney), or by sending documents directly to the relevant Civil Registry Office.
Jurisdiction to dissolve a marriage
According to Art. 3 of the Brussels IIa Regulation, the courts of the EU Member State on whose territory the spouses are or were habitually resident, or of which one spouse is a national, generally have jurisdiction in matters relating to divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment.
Jurisdiction over parental responsibility and maintenance
Jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility is generally determined by the child’s habitual residence, while jurisdiction to determine maintenance obligations lies with the court for the place of habitual residence of the defendant or the creditor, and is often linked to jurisdiction over parental responsibility.
Jurisdiction in non-EU cases
For citizens of non-EU countries, the provisions of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure apply. Polish courts have exclusive jurisdiction in matrimonial matters when the spouses are Polish citizens domiciled and habitually resident in Poland, and jurisdiction also exists in several other cases specified by the Code, such as when the plaintiff has been resident in Poland for a set period before initiating proceedings.