Summary
The defendant, who is also the debtor, lodged a cassation appeal and stated that the first-instance court had violated the provisions of national law. According to Art. 40 par.1 of the Brussels I Regulation the law of the member state in which enforcement is sought, shall govern the procedure for making the application. The defendant pointed out that, under Polish law, parties shall participate in proceedings before the courts of first and second instance. However, The Polish Supreme Court disagreed with the above arguments and stated that the national provisions can be applied only if it is not contrary to EU law. The Polish Supreme Court emphasised that, according to Art. 41 of the Brussels I Regulation, the judgment shall be declared enforceable immediately on completion of the formalities in Art. 53 without any review under Art. 34 and 35. What is more, the EU legislator decided that the party against whom enforcement is sought shall not at this stage of the proceedings be entitled to make any submissions on the application. In view of the above, the Polish Supreme Court stated that the parties, contrary to the Polish civil procedure, cannot participate in the enforcement proceedings before the court of first instance.