Change of limitation periods for claims

Publication / 05.07.2018

On July 9, 2018, the Act of April 13, 2018 on Amendments to the Civil Code and Certain Other Acts ( Dz.U.2018 item 1104) enters into force, according to which the statute of limitations for claims will be shortened.

Article 118 of the Act of April 23, 1964 will be amended. – Civil Code ( Dz.U.2018 poz. 1025 ), which will be worded as follows: “unless a special provision provides otherwise, the statute of limitations is six years, and for claims for periodic benefits and claims related to the conduct of business – three years. However, the end of the statute of limitations shall be on the last day of the calendar year, unless the statute of limitations is less than two years.”.

In view of the above, as of the date of entry into force of the amending law, the statute of limitations for property claims will be six years, instead of 10 years as before. On the other hand, the statute of limitations for claims for periodic benefits and claims related to the conduct of business activities remained unchanged – the statute of limitations will continue to be 3 years.

It is worth noting that under the new regulations, the end of the statute of limitations will fall on the last day of the calendar year, with the exception of cases in which the limitation period for claims is less than two years.