Poland Proposes a New Stobra Project for the UIHJ

A New Eviction Procedure in Poland
This is the second time that the UIHJ takes part in a seminar organized by the Council of the Judicial Officers of the Lodz region in the presence of senior judges, academics and legal professionals.
The first seminar was held in October 2011. The theme concerned statements of facts. Our Polish colleagues are interested in developing this activity in their country. Several states having expressed the same interest, the UIHJ has set the Stobra 4 project to harmonize the constitution of evidence in Europe by the judicial officer.
The UIHJ delegation included its president, Leo Netten, and its first secretary, Mathieu Chardon.
The colloquium was opened by Rafal Fronczek and Andrzej Ritmann, Chairman of the Regional Chamber of the Judicial Officers of Lodz. Our colleague Tomasz Banach, judicial officer in Zgierz, had a heavy responsibility to be in charge of organizing the event, a mission which he expertly fulfilled.
The Ministry of Justice was represented by Judge Rafal Reiwer.
This event is echoing a recent law that came into force last year. This Act amended the eviction process in Poland. In the past, eviction could not be carried out until the debtor had a new place to stay, resulting in long delays, sometimes of several years. The new law allows in some cases to evict the debtor by sending him to a hostel for the homeless. In other words, the debtor can now eventually become homeless.
The new law is considered generally more favourable to the owners. However, it requires judicial officers to be involved in finding a solution to relocate the debtor. Hence the legitimate concerns of the legal sphere on the relationship between eviction and human rights and the role of the judicial officer in the procedure. During the day, presentations and debates led to numerous exchanges with some hundred and fifty people gathered in the auditorium of the Faculty of Law of Lodz.
With Leo Netten and Mathieu Chardon, speakers were Zbigniew Rau, professor at the Faculty of Lodz, Director of Research of the Centre Alexis de Tocqueville, Tomasz Banach, Krystyna Golinowska, district court judge in Lodz, Zenon Knypl a retired judge of the Court of Appeal of Gdansk, and Grzegorz Sikorski, a lawyer from Gdansk.
 

Between 52 and 1080 Days
 

Leo Netten presented eviction proceedings in the European Union through the statistics at his disposal. These show a great disparity between countries. On average, the duration of the procedure varies from 52 days in the Netherlands and 1080 days in Poland. The President of the UIHJ described the eviction procedure in the Netherlands. This can be implemented as soon as three months rent are left unpaid. He explained that on average the procedure takes fifty days between the first notification and the eviction. The eviction judgment can be obtained in twenty days. Leo Netten acknowledged that the procedure is very hard for the evicted person. But this quickness has the advantage not to let the debtor accumulate debts that he won't be able to pay back.
Mathieu Chardon described eviction proceedings in France, "the opposite of that in force in the Netherlands," he noted. Browsing all unavoidable delays and underlining the courts backlogs the first secretary of the UIHJ indicated that it took at least one year between the first notice to pay the rent and the eviction, not to mention the existence of a “Winter” period (1 November to 15 March) during which, with rare exceptions, evictions are postponed. Mathieu Chardon stated that in France, tenants' rights are strongly protected. When an eviction is decided, a prefectural committee is charged with finding solutions to relocate the debtor, "a very laudable initiative." Unfortunately, the creditor has to wait a long time before his premises are given back to him. The consequence is sometimes an extreme though understandable reluctance from the owner, at the time of signing the lease, towards those who cannot provide multiple guarantees for the payment of the rent.
Polish stakeholders spoke of the difficulties encountered during the implementation of the procedure. Some are positioned for the protection of the tenant. Others, however, have defended the owners. This issue has generated much debate and questions from the audience. In particular, the involvement of judicial officers in search of a solution - that is to say, an actual home to relocate the debtor - was generally found to be incompatible with his mission as an enforcement agent. President Netten recalled that the mission of the judicial officer is to carry out enforcement of court decision. In this regard evictions are part of the duties of this professional. Based on the famous decision of the European Court of Human Rights of 1997 Hornsby v. Greece, he said that if a judgment cannot be enforced within a reasonable time, this may constitute a violation of Article 6.1 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
 

A New Stobra Project: Debt Recovery

On the occasion of the visit of the UIHJ in Poland, President Fronczek took the opportunity to talk with Leo Netten about UIHJ projects at European level. President Netten recalled that the executive board of the UIHJ had established six European Stobra projects decided by the Council of the European Presidents of the UIHJ in Paris in November 2011 and presented in Brussels in March 2012. He told him of the progress of the Stobra projects inviting all Polish judicial officers to take an active part in them including Stobra 4 on statements of facts. A very fruitful discussion between the two presidents followed. Already fully informed on the Stobra projects, Rafal Fronczek, in his name and on behalf of his board, congratulated President Netten for his work. He expressed his unwavering commitment to the values of the UIHJ. He said that the Ministry of Justice of Poland was open to the idea that debt recovery can be carried out by the Polish judicial officers, which is not the case today. He suggested to the president of the UIHJ to consider a Stobra project on this topic. Leo Netten congratulated President Fronczek for this initiative. He said that the aim of the Stobra projects is precisely to meet the expectations of the member countries of the UIHJ. He added that he would soon invite a Polish delegation to go to the Netherlands, where debt collection is a key activity for his Dutch colleagues.
Amicable recovery is an essential activity of the profession of judicial officer. It is encouraged by the CEPEJ guidelines of 17 December 2009. The theme is not new. The UIHJ organized in 2004 two colloquiums on debt collection, in Belgium (April), and in France (November). It is clear that this activity is still forbidden to judicial officers in several countries. In others, it is not yet developed and should be promoted.
A new Stobra could then be very soon decided by the Council of the European Presidents of the UIH.
An excellent initiative from Poland. And a very good news for all judicial officers and creditors!