The Electronic Center for Arbitration and Mediation at the Association of Notaries of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw, hereinafter referred to as: "Center" (formerly: "Ultima RATIO" The First Electronic Court of Arbitration at the Association of Notaries of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw and the Electronic Center for Arbitration and Mediation "Ultima RATIO" at the Association of Notaries of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw) deals with conducting proceedings in the field of out-of-court dispute resolution via the Internet by means of arbitration and mediation. The Center is a permanent arbitration court and a mediation center operating on the basis of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, other relevant regulations, and these Rules.
Proceedings in the field of out-of-court dispute resolution are conducted via the Internet. The Center operates on the online platform Ultima RATIO.
The seat of the Center is the capital city of Warsaw.
The bodies of the Center are: the President and the Director.
The President directs the Center in the scope of its adjudicative and mediation functions and represents the Center externally within this framework. The President also performs other activities specified in these Regulations. During the time of inability to perform duties by the President, his tasks are carried out by the Vice President.
The President and his deputies are appointed and dismissed by the Association of Notaries of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw.
The Director manages the Center by directing its current operations, handling organizational and operational matters, coordinating cooperation with common courts, and performing other tasks specified in these Regulations. During the time of inability to perform duties by the Director, his tasks are carried out by the Deputy Director.
The Director and his deputies are appointed and dismissed by the operator of the Ultima RATIO online platform: Causa Finita S.A. based in Rzeszów.
The secretariat performs office tasks and administrative support for the Center. The secretariat is subordinate to the Director.
The list of mediators at the Center may include individuals with legal education, ensuring their ability to perform the functions of mediators in proceedings related to non-judicial dispute resolution. Mediators are primarily individuals who are active notaries or retired notaries. The entry of a mediator on the list of mediators is for a term of three years from the date of entry. The decision about the entry on the list of mediators and the removal from the list of mediators is made by the President.
The President decides to remove a mediator from the list of mediators in the case of:
submission by the Association of Notaries of the Republic of Poland or the operator of the Ultima RATIO platform of a request for removal,
loss of full legal capacity by the mediator,
conviction of the mediator by a final judgment for a crime,
loss of public rights by the mediator,
resignation of the mediator from the position.
In the event of a mediator's removal from the list of mediators, the proceedings conducted by him are transferred by the President to other mediators, who carry them out until their conclusion.
Individuals eligible to be listed as arbitrators at the Center include lawyers, legal advisers, notaries, as well as those holding academic degrees or titles in the field of legal sciences. The President decides on the entry and removal from the list of arbitrators.
The President decides to remove an arbitrator from the list of arbitrators in the event of:
a request for removal submitted by the Association of Notaries of the Republic of Poland,
the arbitrator losing full capacity for legal actions,
the arbitrator being convicted by a final judgment for a crime,
the arbitrator losing all public rights,
the arbitrator resigning from their position.
In the event of an arbitrator's removal from the list of arbitrators, the cases handled by them are transferred by the President to other arbitrators, who shall carry on until their completion.
An arbitrator is obliged to maintain impartiality and resolve disputes in a proper manner, using their knowledge and experience.
The Ultima RATIO online platform provides full capability for conducting proceedings over the Internet and digitally registers their progress. Physical files are not maintained.
An individual can act as a party, their representative, or attorney after creating a user account on the Ultima RATIO platform. Account creation is possible after identity verification through a trusted profile on the website: login.gov.pl.
Only one user can perform a single action on behalf of a participant in the proceedings.
The place of proceedings is the Republic of Poland.
The default language of the proceedings is Polish. The parties may choose the English language.
Polish law is applied in the handling of cases.
Several persons may act as plaintiffs or defendants in the same matter if the subject of the dispute consists of rights and obligations that are common to them, and only when the case against several persons can only proceed jointly (necessary joint participation). However, the claim, response to the claim, or application for mediation should be submitted by a joint representative.
The parties may act personally or through representatives who are lawyers or legal advisors acting on the basis of a power of attorney authorizing them to appear before the Center. In the case of a party that is a legal entity or an organizational unit without legal personality, but possessing legal capacity, the representative may also be a member of the management board acting on the basis of a power of attorney granted in accordance with the rules of representation of the party, authorizing them to appear before the Center. In the case of a civil partnership, the representative of the partners of that partnership may also be a partner of that partnership, acting on the basis of a power of attorney authorizing them to appear before the Center.
The representative of the entrepreneur may also be an employee and a person who is in a permanent commission relationship with the entrepreneur, provided that the subject matter of the case falls within the scope of that commission. It is assumed that these persons are authorized to act on behalf of the entrepreneur if the entrepreneur has assigned them to the account of their business on the Ultima RATIO platform.
The entrepreneur can offer their contractors the option of resolving disputes out of court through mediation conducted by the mediators of the Center.
The Center conducts mediations in matters arising from contracts concluded by entrepreneurs as well as from contracts between entrepreneurs and consumers, particularly those concluded at a distance or outside the business premises. Mediations in matters between entrepreneurs and consumers may only relate to discrepancies between the goods and the contract, services provided over the Internet, or contracts between consumers and entrepreneurs participating in the financial market, insurance companies, mobile telephony operators, cable television operators, media suppliers, and entities dealing with receivables under contracts related to the financial market, insurance, mobile telephony, cable television, and media supply.
The consumer may withdraw from participation in the mediation at any stage without providing a reason. Ultima RATIO informs the consumer of this possibility.
Mediation involves enabling the parties to come closer together in order to resolve the issue.
Proceedings are conducted by a single mediator. The mediator is chosen by the President through a draw or in another way that takes into account specialization, current workload, and any other circumstances that may affect the ability to handle the case in accordance with these Regulations.
The mediator may refuse to conduct mediation in the following cases:
the subject of the dispute falls outside the categories of disputes covered by the Center's jurisdiction
the dispute is trivial, unfounded, or conducting mediation would cause disproportionate burdens to the other party
the value of the subject of the dispute is less than 10 EURO (converted into Polish zloty at the average NBP exchange rate on the date the mediation begins)
the dispute is currently being considered or has previously been addressed by another entity dealing with out-of-court dispute resolution or by a common court
in the mediator's opinion, conducting mediation would significantly disrupt the effective functioning of the Center
In the case of a decision to refuse to conduct mediation, the mediator informs the parties and provides a justification for the refusal.
If the parties did not reach an agreement during the mediation, the mediator may present them with a proposal to resolve the dispute. Participation in mediation does not preclude the possibility of pursuing claims in proceedings before common courts, which may result in a different ruling than the proposal presented by the mediator.
Within 7 days of the date the mediator presents the proposal to resolve the dispute, the parties are obliged to inform the mediator whether they agree with it or have complied with it.
The mediator prepares a report containing the course of the mediation and its outcome. If the parties reached an agreement and presented it to the mediator, a copy is attached to the report.
In cases concluded with an agreement, the Center sends copies of the reports from the mediation to the appropriate common courts in accordance with applicable regulations.
The Centre resolves arbitration disputes if its jurisdiction arises from the parties' agreement. The arbitration agreement may be in written or documentary form. The requirement regarding the form is deemed fulfilled if the arbitration clause has been included in the contract concluded in an electronic system, and its parties confirmed its conclusion directly or by selecting the appropriate option. If the arbitration clause arises from general terms and conditions of contracts or other contractual templates in document form or preserved in documentary form, it is considered binding if the parties had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with its content beforehand and expressed consent to its inclusion in the contract.
The Centre is authorized to rule on its own jurisdiction, including the existence, validity, or effectiveness of the arbitration agreement. In the absence of jurisdiction, the Centre issues a decision to refuse to accept the case for proceedings.
The Centre does not conduct arbitration proceedings involving consumers.
The arbitration proceedings begin with the submission of a claim. The claim is considered submitted on the day the Center's bank account is credited with the fee amount according to the Center's fee schedule, hereinafter referred to as the “Fee Schedule.”
One claim can only pursue one request. Combining multiple claims into a single claim is permissible only when they arise from the same contract.
The claim should clearly specify the parties and the subject of the dispute and also indicate the arbitration clause based on which the proceedings are to be conducted.
In the claim, the plaintiff should provide all assertions that justify the claimed request and present all evidence. The Center may disregard new assertions and the evidence supporting them if they could have been submitted already in the claim.
The Center delivers to the defendant information about the filing of a lawsuit against him along with a copy and instructions on how to create a user account and log in to the Ultima RATIO platform. to the email address specified in the agreement of the parties that is the source of the arbitration record and, in the absence of such, to the email address of the defendant indicated in the National Court Register or another public register or record.
If the defendant indicated in the agreement that is the source of the arbitration record an email address that does not exist or an address that is not used, or if the information referred to in paragraph 1 above cannot be delivered due to a full inbox, intentional blocking of the possibility of receiving correspondence, or other circumstances for which the defendant is responsible, the lawsuit is deemed effectively delivered upon the first attempt to deliver it. The effect of delivering the lawsuit is also triggered by placing a message in the “junk” mail folder (so-called “spam”) by the defendant's mail server.
Notwithstanding the above, with the utmost care for the interests of the parties to the proceedings and the safety of legal transactions, the Center sends a printed version of the information referred to in paragraph 1 above by registered mail to the address of the defendant, disclosed in the relevant court register or another public register or record, and in the case of individuals not conducting business activity - to the address of residence specified in the agreement or in the arbitration record. Confirmation of sending the printed lawsuit is placed in the case profile, and it is assumed that it has reached the addressee within 5 working days from the date of its sending.
The moment of delivery of the lawsuit is considered to be its delivery in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 above. However, if there is no email address of the defendant in the parties' agreement and it is not indicated as the email address in the relevant court register or another public register or record, the lawsuit is deemed delivered at the moment specified in the last sentence of the previous paragraph.
Within one week from the date of delivery of the lawsuit, the defendant may submit a response. The response to the lawsuit is submitted in the Ultima RATIO service. The response to the lawsuit is considered submitted on the day the payment is credited to the bank account of the Center in accordance with the Fee Schedule. Given that the costs of arbitration proceedings conducted under these Regulations are borne equally by both parties, the amount of the arbitration fee for the response to the lawsuit cannot be higher or lower than the amount of the arbitration fee for the lawsuit.
In response to the lawsuit, the defendant should provide all objections and claims against the request of the lawsuit and present all evidence to support them. The Center may disregard new claims and evidence if they could have been raised in the response to the lawsuit.
Failure to respond to the lawsuit does not suspend the consideration of the case and the issuance of a judgment.
Arbitration cases are considered by a panel of one arbitrator.
The arbitrator is selected by the President through a lottery or by another method, taking into account the parties' agreement, specialization, current workload, and any other circumstances that may affect the ability to handle the case in accordance with these Regulations. The arbitration clause means authorization for the President to select an arbitrator.
Upon accepting the case for handling, the arbitrator submits a statement of impartiality and independence to the parties. This statement is delivered on the case profile.
In case of justified doubts about the impartiality or independence of the arbitrator, a party may submit a request
for their disqualification. The request must be submitted within 3 days from the day the party receives information about the circumstances referred to in the previous sentence. If the request is submitted in time, it shall be resolved by the President. The request will be considered promptly, no later than within 3 days from the day of submission. In case of a decision to disqualify the arbitrator, the President decides on the selection of a substitute arbitrator.
During the proceedings, the parties may exchange statements, attach materials and also correspond via chat. In particular, the parties may present evidence in the form of scanned documents, images, photos, audio and video recordings, computer files, and other such materials, whereby the party attaching a given piece of evidence must confirm in every case that it is true and authentic. Under special circumstances, the Center may limit the size or format of files presented by the parties, and may also order the submission of files in other formats.
Witness statements may be provided in the form of written declarations or video recordings, with the witness confirming in their declaration that they are aware of the responsibility for giving false testimony.
If the arbitrator deems it necessary, they will organize a videoconference to supplement the facts that are of significant importance to the case. The party requesting the witness to be heard must compel them to provide testimony under the threat of excluding the evidence. The recording of the hearing will be placed in the case profile.
In cases requiring special knowledge, the arbitrator may, at the request of a party, call an expert of their choosing to obtain an opinion. The opinion is submitted in the electronic system.
Subject to the rules concerning the delivery of the claim, as specified in §13 above, during the proceedings, the delivery of the parties' statements and the judgments rendered take place through their publication on the case profile. During the arbitration, the parties may not contact the arbitrator in any way other than through the Ultima RATIO platform.
The counterclaim may also be recognized when the Center is not competent to resolve the dispute concerning the claim submitted for set-off.
During the proceedings, new claims cannot be made alongside the existing ones. However, in the event of a change in circumstances, the plaintiff may demand, instead of the original subject of the dispute, its equivalent or another benefit.
The counterclaim may also be recognized when the Center is not competent to hear the dispute concerning the claim presented for set-off.
During the proceedings, new claims cannot be made alongside the existing ones. However, in the event of a change in circumstances, the plaintiff may demand, instead of the original subject of the dispute, its equivalent or another benefit.
Subject to the provisions of these Regulations and mandatory legal provisions, the arbitrator conducts the proceedings in a manner they deem appropriate. In particular, the arbitrator has the right to:
require the parties to provide information and make statements,
issue orders concerning procedural matters,
suggest the possibility of issuing a ruling of a specific content based on the evidence gathered so far, it being understood that this does not constitute a disclosure of the arbitrator's stance regarding future resolution but serves to encourage the parties to reach an amicable settlement of the case. By suggesting the possibility of issuing a ruling of a specific content, the arbitrator should give the parties time for amicable negotiations, and if no settlement is reached, allow the parties to present their procedural positions.
If there have been violations of the provisions of these Regulations, a party that has learned of the violation should immediately, but no later than within 3 days, raise the appropriate objection or submit the relevant reservation under the risk of losing the ability to rely on such a violation in the further proceedings or in a complaint to set aside the arbitration award. Within the same period and under the same penalty, the party should report technical problems on the Centre's website if they prevent taking procedural actions.
Upon considering the matter sufficiently clarified, the arbitrator informs the parties and closes the proceedings.
The arbitrator strives to issue a decision within three weeks from the date of filing the lawsuit.
The award should be in writing and signed by the arbitrator. The award should indicate the arbitration clause on the basis of which it was issued, include the designation of the parties and the arbitrator, specify the date and place of its issuance, and also contain the reasons for the decision.
A settlement may take the form of an award upon submission of a relevant request by the party. The relevant request in this regard should be submitted no later than 3 days from the date of the conclusion of the settlement.
In the final ruling of the case, the arbitrator also decides, at the request of the parties, on the costs of the proceedings, applying the relevant provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure regarding liability for the outcome of the case. Parties represented by professional attorneys are entitled to reimbursement of the legal representation costs in the amount specified in the Fee Schedule. From the amount of the process cost reimbursement, statutory interest is due from the date of the issuance of the ruling.
The arbitrator issues a decision to terminate the proceedings if the plaintiff has withdrawn the lawsuit with or without waiving the claim, provided that the defendant has consented to it, and also when the issuance of a ruling has become unnecessary or inadmissible for other reasons. The arbitrator terminates the proceedings suspended at the mutual request of the parties if the request to resume the proceedings was not submitted within three months from the date of the issuance of the decision to suspend.
The center delivers to the parties or their attorneys, if appointed, certified copies of the awards and those decisions in which the costs of proceedings were awarded, by registered mail. Other rulings are delivered solely in the IT system.
The center's rulings are final.
The arbitrators, mediators, the Ultima RATIO platform operator, and the Association of Notaries of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw shall not be liable for damages arising from actions or omissions related to proceedings conducted before the Center, unless the damage was caused intentionally.
In case of the annulment of the Center's ruling by a common court, the case shall be reconsidered by another arbitrator selected in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
In matters not regulated by these Regulations, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply in proceedings before the Center.
The center, mediators, and arbitrators are obligated to keep confidential all information obtained during the course of proceedings related to alternative dispute resolution.
The center is entitled to examine proposals for resolving disputes to monitor the effectiveness of procedures and to develop or publish the results of its research and prepare reports.
Personal data may only be disclosed for the purpose of executing final decisions or in cases provided for by law - in response to a court judgment or an order from a public administration authority.
Effective from October 23, 2023.