The reinstatement of separate proceedings in commercial cases under the Act of 4 July 2019 amending the Code of Civil Procedure Act and certain acts did not mean a mechanical reinstatement of the provisions that were in force until 2 May 2012. The procedural
material in these proceedings is concentrated in a system of evidence preclusion, supplemented by elements of the judge’s discretionary power. The harsh consequences of preclusion are mitigated by the use of salvatory clauses, in which a system of secondary preclusion is adopted. As a general rule, evidence should be submitted by the parties in the statement of claim or statement of defence, which applies to a party represented by a qualified attorney; however, a system of procedural instructions was applied to a party not so represented. Despite the amendment of the rules of separate proceedings, there is an urgent need to modify Article 4585 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure by extending the obligation of the defendant to provide all claims and evidence on pain of their omission also when the first pleading of the defendant after service of the copy of the statement of claim is an appeal, e.g. in the form of an objection or charges against an order for payment. Interpretation doubts are also raised by other provisions of Section IIa, including Article 4581 § 1 sentence 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which does not completely prevent the crossing of proceedings in commercial cases with proceedings involving consumers and therefore requires further amendment. The above-mentioned issues are discussed further in the article, together with proposals for certain solutions.