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After reading the articles on the European Payment Order of my colleague, already attorney-at-law Marcin Chmiel, I have the following additional reflections.

The European Payment Order procedure is an overlay on the civil procedure systems of EU member states. Sometimes it is more integrated with that system, sometimes less.

In Poland, the European Payment Order procedure makes it possible to bypass the electronic writ-of-payment procedure (EPU), which prevents claims in currencies other than PLN – entirely contrary to the statute, which contains no such restriction, and contrary to the principle of currency denomination.

Because of the specific terminology used by the European legislator, there are sometimes difficulties in interpreting the statutory provisions. These difficulties are mainly visible in determining what the formal requirements for issuing a payment order actually are.

Indeed, the text of Regulation No. 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 is not entirely clear. From the legislator’s intent, i.e. through systemic and functional interpretation, it follows that the only formal condition for filing a claim should be the submission of the application for a payment order, together with a power of attorney and a copy for the opposing party. Theoretically, no further attachments need to be added. In this form, the procedure would be very similar to the Polish electronic writ-of-payment procedure.

In practice, European Payment Orders have indeed been issued based on applications submitted by us in this way.

However, most courts have been more rigorous, applying provisions of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (art. 129 CCP: A party referring to a document in a pleading is obliged, at the opponent’s request, to submit the original document to the court before the hearing), and requiring the submission of originals of such documents along with copies for the other party. Sometimes formal deficiencies also included a more detailed description of the claim (e.g., interest calculations).

As a result, one can take the risk of filing a claim without attaching documents, but as a safer course of action, I advise filing the claim together with the documents cited as the basis of the claim.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that in some countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary) the only way for a professional representative to initiate civil proceedings is electronically. From experience, I know that in such cases there is no real difference between the EPU and the European Payment Order. However, initiating such proceedings in Germany, Austria, or Hungary from Poland requires that the attorney-at-law be admitted in that country or have access to the EIDAS system with an activated electronic mailbox for attorneys in that jurisdiction.

According to Article 12 of EU Regulation No. 1896/2006, after receiving an application for a European Payment Order, the court issues the order as soon as possible, usually within 30 days of the claim being filed. This is one of the very few deadlines set for courts to issue rulings. As a rule, this deadline is respected, but there have been cases where we had to wait almost a year for the payment order. In the case of such long delays, it is possible to file a complaint for excessive length of proceedings. Because of the explicit provision specifying the deadline for issuing the payment order, the likelihood of obtaining at least the minimum statutory compensation is higher.

If the court refuses to issue a European Payment Order or rejects the application for its issuance (this decision, interestingly, is not subject to appeal), the only option left is to file an ordinary lawsuit. Drafting it is easier, since the reasoning can be “copied” from the rejected application.

To initiate enforcement proceedings based on a European Payment Order, it is not necessary to obtain a certificate under EU Regulation 1215/2012 or a European Enforcement Order. It is sufficient to present the bailiff with a copy of the European Payment Order, a copy of Form G “Certificate of Enforceability,” and, if necessary, translations of these documents into the language used in the country where enforcement is sought.

If the defendant lodges an objection, the court will order us to file a preparatory pleading, requiring us to respond to the defendant’s arguments. This allows us to avoid having to refile the application for a European Payment Order as an ordinary lawsuit (which is necessary under the electronic writ-of-payment procedure).