W sprawie kodeksowej regulacji kapitałowych odsetek maksymalnych
On the regulation of Maximum amount of interest in the civil code

Summary/Abstract: The stipulation of an excessive capital interest, which is unjustified in a particular case is harmful for the entity benefiting from someone else’s capital. That is why legislative actions aimed to provide the protection against excessive interest are fully justified. The solution adopted in Poland is based on the determination of the maximum amount of interest by law. This is one of two basic ways commonly used to fight against usury but it has both many advantages as well as drawbacks. The provisions of art. 359 § 21–359 § 23 of the Civil Code undoubtedly ensure legal certainty as they define a clear and uniform mechanism of fighting with interest recognized by the legislature as excessive. However, the introduction of such uniformed mechanism of determining the maximum amount of interest ignores the objective assessment of whether and when the interest provided for a particular legal action is excessive. This assessment may be de-facto different depending on a particular case and its circumstances.Therefore, the provisions of art. 359 § 21–359 § 23 of the Civil Code concerning maximum amount of interest are not a solution which guarantees that interest agreed by parties is equitable in each particular case. Nevertheless, they are an effective tool used to fight with interest recognized by the legislature as excessive.

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