Dostęp do oddłużenia w obliczu konstytucyjnej zasady równości wobec prawa. Ewolucja polskich uregulowań prawnych
Accessibility to a debt relief in relation to equality before the law: The evolution of Polish legal regulation

Summary/Abstract: Debt relief was introduced into the Polish legal system in 2003 as a part of the regulation included in the new Insolvency Act. The article presents an evaluation of the debt relief regulation from the point of view of equality before the law, using the dogmatic-legal method. Making such an evaluation is a matter of fundamental importance, as the principle of equality before the law is stated not only by the prescriptions of Polish Constitution but also by international and European law. Initially, debt relief was really intended only for persons conducting business activity, specifically natural persons, as there are no reasons for applying such a legal institution to corporations. In any case, at the outset there was no equality among natural persons in the field of debt relief. But changes occurred in 2008 when consumer bankruptcy came into force in the Polish legal system. Later, both the regulation of business bankruptcy and the regulation of consumer bankruptcy were significantly amended, several times. The most important conclusions drawn from the analysis of this evolution concern the comparison between the situations of entrepreneurs and consumers from the point of view of access to debt relief. Following the amendments, it may be stated that natural persons have the right to debt relief, regardless of whether or not they conduct business activity. As a result of the changes analysed in the article, legal solutions that conflicted with principle of equality were to a significant degree eliminated.

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