PPE 1/2026
Dochodzenie roszczeń ze stosunku spółki cywilnej i ich egzekucja z majątku wspólnego – wybrane zagadnienia i uwagi na tle art. 778 k.p.c.
dr Michał Szulczewski
Katedra Postępowania Cywilnego II, Wydział Prawa i Administracji, Uniwersytet Łódzki; ORCID: 0000-0003-4011-2974
ABSTRACT
Asserting Claims Arising from a Relation of Civil Partnership and Their Enforcement Against Joint Property – Selected Issues and Comments in the Context of Article 778 of the Code of Civil Procedure
dr Michał Szulczewski, Department of Civil Procedure II, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Łódź; ORCID: 0000-0003-4011-2974
This study examines issues relating to the assertion of monetary claims arising from a civil law partnership, understood as claims arising between partners in connection with their participation in the partnership and the rights and obligations resulting therefrom. The point of departure for the analysis is Article 778 of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure, which makes the admissibility of enforcement against the joint assets of the partners in a civil law partnership conditional upon the creditor holding an enforceable title issued jointly against all partners.
The analysis also addresses the determination of the scope of partners’ liability for obligations arising from the civil law partnership relationship, in particular claims of an internal partnership nature. To this end, reference is made to the substantive regulation of civil law partnerships contained in the Polish Civil Code. The considerations conducted lead to the identification of a fundamental criterion for distinguishing the scope of such liability, namely the moment at which claims arising from the partnership relationship are asserted. In the case of claims crystallised during the existence of the civil law partnership, the general principle limiting the partners’ liability to their personal assets should apply. Attention is also drawn to exceptions to this principle, namely claims related to the partners’ obligation to make contributions to the partnership, as well as recourse claims of a partner who has satisfied the partnership’s creditors from their own personal assets.
The study further discusses the types of passive joinder of parties in proceedings concerning individual claims arising from a civil law partnership relationship. In addition, it addresses long-standing interpretative doubts concerning Article 778 of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure, including the admissibility of enforcement against joint assets with respect to claims unrelated to the partnership’s business activity, the question of whether an enforceable title within the meaning of Article 778 must cover all partners jointly, and the issue of partners’ personal liability for partnership obligations incurred prior to their accession to the partnership.
Keywords: civil partnership, civil proceedings, liability of civil partnership partners, enforcement against the partnership assets