The issue of unlawfully obtained evidence in the Polish civil procedure

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to discuss the question of unlawfully obtained evidence in the Polish civil procedure, taking into account such issues as the definition of the terms of “evidence” and “unlawfully obtained evidence”, the need to resolve a conflict of rights and interests in connection with the use of unlawfully obtained evidence and judicature’s views on the possibility of using such evidence in a trial. Despite the lack of regulation of these issues in the civil procedural law – the Code of Civil Procedure, the Polish doctrine of the civil procedure has significant scientific achievements related to the unlawfully obtained evidence. Regardless of any theoretical considerations, the paper exhibits a review of the positions presented in the jurisprudence of the Polish common courts and the Polish Supreme Court on the prohibition or non-prohibition of using such evidence in a trial, on the basis of which it can be concluded that there is no uniform line of jurisprudence in favor of complete prohibition, partial prohibition or non-prohibition of using unlawfully obtained evidence in judicial practice. In view of the above, it was found that it is not possible to make a precise division of unlawfully obtained evidence into evidence that may or may not be used in a trial, as each separate state of facts needs to be assessed by the court as a procedural authority.