General information
„Power of attorney” is a term of many meanings. It can be understood as the power to act on and in behalf of another person or as a document which gives this power.
It should be made clear that not every person who has the power to act on behalf of another person is their attorney-in-fact. That is because the right to act on behalf of another person may follow from different sources which they influence its extent. It may follow from:
- the declaration of intent of a person who is to be represented (the so-called principal); in such a case we may speak of a power of attorney;
- statutory law or a court’s ruling; in such cases it is called statutory representation; statutory representatives are parents of minors (art. 98 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code – Kodeks Rodzinny i Opiekuńczy) or a custodian appointed by the court (art. 181-184 of the Code). Represented persons do not, as a rule, have influence over the choice of their representative and the scope of his authorisation.
A distinction should be made between a limited power of attorney, understood as the power to enter into legal transactions on behalf of someone else out of court (e.g. to sign a contract), and a power of attorney in court proceedings which means taking somebody’s place (representing him) in court or before public authorities.
Most matters concerning a foreigner’s residence in Poland (e.g. legalisation of stay, resident registration, getting Polish citizenship) are dealt with in public offices which operate on the basis of administrative procedures, as regulated by the Code of Administrative Proceedings (Kodeks postępowania administracyjnego, the CAP). Therefore, this text will contain information on the power of attorney in such proceedings and general rules of power of attorney for property and financial affairs.
However, it should be kept in mind that Polish law recognises, apart from administrative proceedings, also proceedings before administrative, civil or criminal courts. Each type has its own power of attorney rules, in many cases different than in the CAP. For instance, in procedures according to the Code of Administrative Proceedings there is no requirement of a compulsory representation by a lawyer that is, appointing a lawyer or a legal counsel who would represent a party in legal proceedings (such as proceedings before a court). Yet, such proceedings undertaken by a party in person would not have legal effects in court.