Court Costs – an Obstacle to Out-of-Court Settlements

Karolina Kasprzak

Abstract

“Even a poor settlement is better than the best court judgment” (Morek, 2011, p. 186) such a thesis seems to be the most justified, taking into account, in particular, economic aspects such as the speed of the procedure or its costs, but also psychological aspects. It is assumed that a concerted agreement of the parties is characterized by greater motivation to fulfil their obligations than those imposed on them by the court. In the face of long court proceedings and the associated high costs, it is necessary to imply alternative dispute resolution methods in civil procedure. Despite the increasing emphasis on reforms that will persuade applicants to resolve disputes by mediation or settlement before the court, the norms concerning amicable settlement by out-of-court settlement when the dispute is already pending before the court, in particular in the Act of 28 July 2005 on court costs in civil cases (Act, 2005), also need to be amended. It should be emphasized that striving for an amicable settlement of civil cases is one of the basic functions of a court.