It’s now easier to enforce a foreign freezing injunction in Poland

Thanks to the recent changes in Polish law, a freezing injunction issued in another European state (with the usual exceptions of Denmark and the UK) will now be directly enforced in Poland without the need of going through a domestic recognition procedure.
 
The debtor, against whom a freezing injunction has been issued, cannot withdraw or transfer the funds deposited on his account up to the amount of his debt. However, the creditor is not entitled to receive those funds without a court’s judgment.
 
You can apply for such a crossborder freezing injunction on the grounds of the EU Regulation No 655/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing a European Account Preservation Order procedure to facilitate cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters. The freezing injunction can be issued before the creditor initiates proceedings the debtor, or at any stage during the proceedings up until the issuing of the judgment or the approval/conclusion of a court settlement. It can also be issued after the creditor obtained a judgment or a payment order.
 
You have to satisfy two conditions. Firstly, you have to submit sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that you are likely to succeed on the substance of your claim against the debtor. Secondly, you have to submit sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that there is an urgent need for the freezing injunction because there is a real risk that, without it, the subsequent enforcement of your claim against the debtor will be impeded or made substantially more difficult.
 
A freezing injunction issued in another EU member state will be enforced in Poland by the bailiffs. A bailiff is legally bound to start the enforcement of the freezing injunction within 7 days from receiving your motion.
 
The recent changes have to be vowed as positive. Non- or delayed payment can often jeopardise a business, and the all-EU freezing injunction is an efficient weapon against this