Yes. In a Polish civil case an official document proves what the authority certified in it, and a private document proves that the person who signed it made the statement it contains. Instead of the original you can file a copy certified by a notary or by the advocate or legal adviser acting in the case, but the court may ask for the original.
This entry covers civil cases under the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, k.p.c.), for example inheritance or family matters. Criminal and administrative proceedings have rules of their own.
Official and private documents
An official document is issued by a public authority, within its remit and in the prescribed form. Such a document, for example an odpis (certified extract) of a civil status record or an administrative decision, proves what was officially certified in it. Anyone who claims it is untrue has to prove that. Notarial acts also count as official documents, and a wypis (notarial copy) of a notarial deed has the legal force of the original.
A private document, for example a contract, a receipt or a letter, proves only that the person who signed it made the statement it contains. Whether that statement reflects reality is something the court weighs together with the other evidence, according to its own assessment.
Original, certified copy and plain copy
A party that relies on a document in its pleadings must file the original if the other side asks for it. Instead, it may file a copy whose conformity with the original has been certified by a notary or by the party’s representative in the case who is an advocate (adwokat), legal adviser (radca prawny) or patent attorney. The court may still ask for the original if the circumstances of the case justify it.
When a document is held in an authority’s files, you do not need to obtain the original. A copy or extract officially certified by that authority is enough, and if the party cannot obtain it, the court will request it from the authority.
A plain photocopy or a printed scan is not a certified copy. The court decides what weight it carries, and the other side may ask for the original. Whether a copy is enough in your situation is something an advocate or legal adviser can assess.
Electronic documents
The Polish Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny, k.c.) defines a document broadly: it is a medium carrying information that allows its content to be read. A file can therefore be a document too. The rules on documentary evidence apply to documents that contain text and allow the issuer to be identified. A photo or a recording is examined by the court applying the rules on inspection and on documents accordingly.
The Civil Code treats a declaration bearing a qualified electronic signature as equivalent to written form. In court, such a document proves the same as one signed by hand: that the person who signed it made the declaration it contains.
Why you need to be able to find the originals
A fact must be proved by whoever derives legal consequences from it, and it is the parties who point to the evidence. If the document of a transaction that required written form goes missing, the law allows witness evidence or the hearing of the parties in a dispute between those who took part in it.
A wypis of a notarial deed or an odpis of a civil status record can be ordered again from the notary or the registry office. No institution can recreate a contract with the other side, a receipt or correspondence.
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