Registered letters are a true bane of the common judiciary. Thirty years ago, they were necessary – after all, other methods of exchanging formal documents were not known. Nonetheless, in the 21st century, such deliveries are an anachronism and are one of the causes of delays in court proceedings. How do we handle the issue of deliveries at Ultima Ratio?

We have opted for email deliveries. We assumed that currently, every entrepreneur who properly manages their matters has an active email address that they use regularly. However, being aware of the potential unreliability of this form of communication, we have imposed several important conditions on it.

First and foremost, entrepreneurs, when registering for arbitration, should specify email addresses for receiving correspondence from Ultima Ratio. If they fail to do so, correspondence is sent to their addresses disclosed in the National Court Register (KRS) or the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG). If it turns out that there are no email addresses there either, the delivery of the claim occurs by traditional mail and is effective upon the first delivery attempt (notification).

Secondly, the issue of email delivery is significant only in the case of serving the claim to the defendant. Subsequent deliveries take place within the system, where one can review the procedural position of the opposing party or chat with them on the case profile. It is a very convenient and modern solution. We too dislike receiving emails in our inbox that we are not always inclined to read.

Of course, if the user wishes, the system notifies them about selected procedural events they are interested in. Options include emails, SMS and 'push' notifications in the mobile app. One can, for example, set notifications to receive an SMS that the opponent has just filed a response to the claim or presented evidence, or that the Arbitration Court has issued a ruling.

Thirdly, the system meticulously records the entire process of claim delivery. If the message with the claim does not reach the recipient's inbox, then information about the non-delivery (so-called MAILER-DAEMON) is published on the case profile. Additionally, the system administrator determines the reason for the irregularity by examining how the sender's and recipient's mail servers communicated. His explanation is also published.

All of this ensures that the arbitrator has full knowledge of the reasons for the non-delivery. It's important to know that the claim wasn’t delivered, for example, because the email address provided by the party doesn’t exist, is incorrect, or the recipient's mailbox is full. If someone entirely blocks the ability to receive any correspondence from Ultima Ratio, which is technically feasible, the arbitrator will be informed about that as well.

The above rules are aimed at preventing a situation where the defendant cannot defend themselves in the process through no fault of their own. Strict adherence to them should altogether eliminate such a possibility.

It should also be remembered that Ultima Ratio rulings always have a written form and are delivered to the parties by registered letters under normal rules.