Supreme Court judgment key to the development of arbitration

Lawyers in our Litigation Practice Paweł Lewandowski (Practice head), Paweł Paradowski, Hanna Gajewska-Kraczkowska and Łukasz Wojdalski finally saw the successful end of a case that had lasted over 6 years to set aside an award issued by the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw in a case between Taifun Real sp. z o.o. and Exatel SA.

On 24 February, the Supreme Court issued a judgment (I CSK 173/15) dismissing Exatel SA’s cassation appeal against a judgment passed by the Court of Appeal in Warsaw, which will ultimately lead to the Court of Arbitration award being set aside.

The case, involving the precedential issue of whether an arbitration court is bound by a prior arbitration court award, was heard three times in the Supreme Court. These judgments, and the argument expressed by the Supreme Court that arbitration courts are bound by prior arbitration court awards as are state courts, are not only a resounding success for our team, they have also become a milestone in the development of arbitration in Poland.

The topic has also been discussed at numerous conferences and in many publications.