Istota i formy ilościowych przekształceń przedmiotowych w polskim procesie cywilnym

Abstract

The Polish Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) does regulate the amendments of the subject of claim in Art. 193. It must be observed that the Code (similar to the former Code of Civil Procedure of 1932) does not supply a statutory definition of the amendment of claim, leaving this matter to the theory of civil procedure; the regulation is only concerned with the admissibility of a change. Speaking in most general terms, an amendment of a claim is a procedural act which results in transformation of particular elements of the claim, thus directly influencing the proceedings. However, the continuity of the proceedings before and after the amendment must be preserved, in the sense that earlier procedural acts of the parties and evidence collected remain at least partially pertinent. The claimant’s act amending the claim may as well limit as extend the subject matter of the proceedings. It can also, obviously, contain as well an amendment of the requested remedy as the factual basis of the claim. A separate amendment of only one of those elements seems also possible. As a quantitative amendment of the claim must also be considered the introduction of a new claim besides the original one (a cumulative amendment). Such an amendment is expressly provided by Art. 193 § 2 CCP. It must be stressed that, as a matter of fact, the extension of the claim in a cumulative form, as regulated in Art. 193§ 2 CPC, shall produce the identical result as if the claimant already in the statement of claim availed of a possibility provided in Art. 191 CCP, namely to cumulate more than one substantive law claim in one statement of claim against the same respondent. The claimant’s procedural acts aimed at the quantitative amendment of the claim include also the limitation of the claim, thus resulting in the limitation of the subject matter of the proceedings. Undoubtedly, the limitation of the claim is a party’s procedural act bearing upon the court’s decision.