General power of attorney to represent in Poland
The Civil Code, in Section VI concerning representation, introduced the institution of the power of attorney, thanks to which we can appoint a representative who will perform certain actions on our behalf. The institution of the power of attorney is extremely important, especially for people who for various reasons can not perform specific legal actions. The power of attorney is an ideal solution for foreigners staying in Poland, who in this way may assign some responsibilities to the representative they have established.
The Polish law distinguishes three types of powers:
– general power of attorney,
– special power of attorney,
– generic authorization.
General power of attorney, in accordance with the provisions of art. 93 of the Civil Code includes authorization for ordinary management.
Special power of attorney, granted for a specific, specific legal act, e.g. sale of a given real estate.
Generic authorization, granted for specific types of activities, e.g. the right to conclude employment contracts on behalf of the entrepreneur.
The object of the analysis is the general power of attorney, which has the widest scope of authorization, allows for dealing with everyday affairs by a person appointed for this purpose, such as appearing before courts, offices, economic entities or public administration bodies. The general power of attorney must be granted in writing – the lack of a written power of attorney is the basis for contesting the legal act concluded by the representative. The parties to the general power of attorney include the principal (the person granting the power of attorney) and the proxy (person designated for representation). It is necessary to indicate in the text the power of attorney, i.e. name, surname, address of residence, PESEL number and the series and number of the identity document of both the principal and the proxy. The power of attorney should contain information about the date and place of its granting. The document must also clearly indicate what are the rights and obligations of the representative. In the case of persons running a business, an example of a general power of attorney is a proxy, which allows the entrepreneur to authorize the selected person to perform certain activities related to running the business on his behalf. Having a representative / proxy makes the business easier.
An attorney may be a person with full legal capacity. The power of attorney may be revoked at any time. The cancellation of the power of attorney does not require justification, it is a unilateral declaration of will. The power of attorney may also be granted for a definite period, after which the power of attorney expires after the date fixed. The proxy may also waive the power of attorney. There are also premises such as death of the principal, death of the proxy or liquidation of the legal person, which causes that the power of attorney will automatically expire. Loss of legal capacity by the proxy also results in expiration of the power of attorney.
In Poland, the institution of the power of attorney is very popular. It is used by both entrepreneurs of Polish origin and foreigners who assign the majority of formal duties related to running a business to a designated representative.