A judgment of a Slovak court in a commercial matter is enforceable in Poland without any declaration of enforceability. You obtain from the Slovak court a certificate under Article 53 of the Brussels Ia Regulation and produce it, together with the judgment, to the Polish enforcement authority. The debtor may request a translation of the judgment into Polish and until then enforcement is limited to protective measures, so it is sensible to have the translation ready in advance. Enforcement may be refused only on narrowly defined grounds, not because the debtor disagrees with the judgment.
After years of litigation you hold a final judgment of a Slovak court, but the Polish customer is not paying and has no assets in Slovakia. You do not need to have the judgment recognised in Poland in separate proceedings. Since 10 January 2015, proceedings commenced from that date have been governed by the Brussels Ia Regulation (Article 66(1)), which abolished the declaration of enforceability in another state. A “judgment” means any decision of a court whatever it may be called (Article 2(a)), and therefore also an order for payment.
Enforceability without further proceedings
A judgment given in a Member State which is enforceable in that Member State shall be enforceable in the other Member States without any declaration of enforceability being required.
What matters is that the judgment is enforceable in Slovakia. The Polish Code of Civil Procedure, as amended with effect from 10 January 2015, expressly provides that decisions of the courts of Member States falling under the Brussels Ia Regulation are enforceable titles in Poland where they can be enforced by execution (the Act of 5 December 2014, Dz. U. 2015 item 2). An enforceable judgment also confers the power to take any protective measures available under Polish law (Article 40).
What to prepare in Slovakia
From the court that gave the decision you obtain a certificate using the form in Annex I to the Regulation (Article 53). The certificate confirms enforceability and contains an extract of the judgment and, where appropriate, information on costs and the calculation of interest. You then produce to the Polish enforcement authority a copy of the judgment satisfying the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity, together with that certificate (Article 42(1)). The enforcement authority may where necessary require a translation of the contents of the certificate, but a translation of the whole judgment only if it cannot proceed without it (Article 42(3) and (4)).
A translation for the debtor
Before the first enforcement measure, the certificate is served on the debtor together with the judgment, if it has not already been served (Article 43(1)). If the judgment was not served on the debtor in Polish or in a language it understands, or accompanied by a translation, the Polish debtor may request a translation of it. Until it is provided, only protective measures may be taken against it (Article 43(2)), which the Polish Code of Civil Procedure implements by having the enforcement authority limit enforcement to protective steps. It is therefore worth preparing an official translation of the judgment into Polish to accompany the filing, rather than only after the debtor raises the point.
How the debtor can defend itself
Enforcement is refused only on the debtor’s application and only on the grounds set out in Article 45 (Article 46). These include manifest conflict with Polish public policy, a judgment given without the participation of a defendant on whom the action was not served in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable it to arrange its defence, and irreconcilability with another judgment between the same parties. The application is decided by the Polish regional court (sąd okręgowy), as a rule that of the debtor’s seat. If the debtor did not take part in the proceedings, the court will examine whether the action was served on it in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable it to defend itself, and the debtor may also argue about the language of the documents; what matters is therefore how service was effected in the dispute itself.
Working with a Polish colleague
The application for enforcement itself is lodged in Poland under Polish rules. Under debt recovery in Poland we obtain the certificate from the Slovak court and the translations, and coordinate enforcement in Poland with a Polish advocate we work with regularly; you communicate with us. If you do not yet have a judgment and are considering where to sue, see the question on whether you can sue a Polish customer in Slovakia. If there is a risk that the debtor will empty its accounts in the meantime, consider preserving its account in Poland. Send us the judgment marked as final and enforceable, together with the debtor’s details.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 12 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
