Summary – Ruling of the Polish Supreme Court of 7 November 2014 (case ref. IV CSK 76/14)

I. This verdict of the Supreme Court is worthy of note first and foremost on account of the practical import of the issues ruled upon. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled on whether a final judgement (with no possibility of ordinary appeal) won in an actio pauliana suit brought against the recipient of a bequest may – along with an enforcement title extending to the creditor vis a vis the debtor – constitute the basis for entry in the land and mortgage register of a compulsory mortgage on a property of a third party [actio pauliana is a concept adopted from Roman law, generally equivalent to that of fraudulent conveyance]. It appears that, in addressing this question, the Supreme Court adopted as its point of departure two key issues which I propose to discuss below, namely i) definition of the legal effects of a ruling obtained in an actio pauliana suit in light of art. 532 of the Polish Civil Code and ii) assessment of the legal nature of the compulsory mortgage and of its entry in the land and mortgage register. The conclusions arrived at in considering these two issues have significant ramifications in practice, in that they impact upon due definition of the rights of a creditor who secured a verdict vitiating a fraudulent action between its debtor and a third party. It should be noted that the Supreme Court decision discussed here continues a line of authority cultivated over recent years.