A Polish company may be sued in Poland unless you have agreed exclusively on another court. A Slovak court has jurisdiction where, under the contract, the goods were delivered or the services provided in Slovakia, or where you agreed a Slovak court in writing. What decides is therefore the contract and the delivery terms, not the creditor’s seat. A Slovak judgment is then enforced in Poland without any declaration of enforceability, although we recommend serving the action and related documents on the debtor together with a Polish translation.
A Slovak manufacturer supplies a Polish distributor and the last three invoices have gone unpaid. An action before its home court would be simpler for it: the same language, familiar rules, its own lawyer. Whether a Slovak court may decide the matter is determined by the Brussels Ia Regulation (No. 1215/2012), which applies directly between Slovakia and Poland.
The basic rule: the court in the debtor’s state
A company established in a Member State may be sued in the courts of that state (Article 4(1)). The Polish court therefore has jurisdiction, unless you agreed exclusively in writing on another court. The question is whether a Slovak court is available alongside it.
The court of the place of delivery
For contracts, the Regulation also permits the court of the place of performance:
A person domiciled in a Member State may be sued in another Member State: 1. (a) in matters relating to a contract, in the courts for the place of performance of the obligation in question; (b) for the purpose of this provision and unless otherwise agreed, the place of performance of the obligation in question shall be: — in the case of the sale of goods, the place in a Member State where, under the contract, the goods were delivered or should have been delivered, — in the case of the provision of services, the place in a Member State where, under the contract, the services were provided or should have been provided; […]
In a sale of goods, therefore, what matters is not where payment is to be made but where the goods were to be delivered under the contract. If you carried the goods to the customer’s warehouse in Poland, the place of performance is in Poland. If the customer collected them at your plant in Slovakia under the contract, you may sue before a Slovak court. For services, what matters is where they were to be provided under the contract. The delivery terms in the contract, framework agreement or order are therefore decisive.
An agreement on a Slovak court
If you agreed with the customer that disputes are to be resolved by a Slovak court, that agreement applies and as a rule confers exclusive jurisdiction (Article 25(1)). The agreement must be in writing or evidenced in writing, or in a form according with practices the parties have established between themselves or with usages in international trade; electronic communication providing a durable record also counts as writing (Article 25(2)). A clause in terms and conditions to which the customer never acceded will as a rule not meet that requirement. With new Polish customers it is worth having a jurisdiction clause in a framework agreement that they sign.
What changes when you sue in Slovakia
The proceedings are conducted by a Slovak court under Slovak rules. Documents are served in Poland under Regulation (EU) 2020/1784 and the addressee may refuse to accept a document that is not in a language it understands or in an official language of the place of service (Article 12(1)). It may do so at the time of service or within two weeks by written declaration (Article 12(3)). A Polish translation of the action therefore avoids the delay that a refusal to accept would cause. A Slovak judgment is then enforceable in Poland without any declaration of enforceability (Article 39); we describe the procedure in the question on how to enforce a Slovak judgment in Poland.
Where the invoice is undisputed you may apply for a European order for payment instead of bringing an action. Jurisdiction is determined by the same Brussels Ia rules (Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 1896/2006), as discussed in more detail in the question on which court to apply to for a European order for payment and under the European order for payment service.
Where the Polish court decides
If Slovak jurisdiction is not established, the matter is conducted in Poland. Under debt recovery in Poland we coordinate it with a Polish advocate we work with regularly, who represents you before the Polish court, while you communicate with us in Slovak. Send us the contract or orders with the delivery terms and the invoices; from them we will determine which court has jurisdiction and which route is faster.
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.
