Why not? Well, even a processual lawyer’s perspective changes over time. A personal digression: it took me over 5 years spent as an in-house lawyer to come to these conclusions.

As far as the numbers are concerned:

1. Approximately 1.5 million commercial cases are brought to state courts every year;
2. On average, business cases last 17.7 months (these statistics are very optimistic, as they include, for example, registration proceedings. From my experience, each time we are talking about several years of a business dispute);
3. The costs of the dispute include only the fees paid to the court (maximum PLN 200,000) and the costs of attorneys. However, the parties do not consider, for example, the increase in interest on the principal amount as the dispute continues or the lost profits that they do not obtain during the duration of the dispute.

The problem

The Anglo-Saxons believed that “justice delayed is justice denied”. Therefore, it is difficult to rationally explain the parties’ attachment to state courts, where extreme processing capacity has been reached. We are familiar with arbitration – it is older than proceeding before state courts. Who doesn’t know the story of two women arguing about a child before King Solomon?

What instead of court?

The conflicted parties conduct proceedings before state courts and repeatedly mention reasons for pessimism complaining about long deadlines, high costs, and instability of case law—just to mention a few of them. Objectively, it is difficult to expect different effects using the same measures.

The state’s “judgmental monopoly” does not exist. In arbitration, the award is obtained faster (approximately 1 year), confidentially, according to the principles and law chosen by the parties. It can be issued by people whom we are sure have experience in each field. The parties are limited only by their consent, imagination, and, finally, the law. However, these limitations should not be exaggerated. Last but not least: arbitration can be cheaper.

There is a choice between a court of arbitration appointed for a specific case (ad hoc ), as well as there is a choice of a permanent court of arbitration. You can also apply to such an institution to administer a dispute (administered arbitration).

“Demystifying” arbitration

The flexibility of arbitration does not match the number of cases it hears. It is significant that in centrally located Poland, the country with the highest economic growth in the EU, the number of cases heard by permanent arbitration courts is around 1,000.

Therefore, it is worth “demystifying” arbitration – both for Polish and international clients. There is no other forum like these where conflicting entities can “heal” damaged trust and relationships as effectively.

For the above reasons, I first advise clients to resolve the dispute amicably. I consider state court to be an absolute last resort.