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64 Janko* iki

The formcr includc rcmuneration for and expcnses of rcpresentatioo, e.g. an attorncy-at-law, a legał counsel or a patent attorncy, or the cotu of travd to court and an equivalcnt of the lost carnings of a proxy wha is not a professional agent (e.g. a spousc, a parenl or a deacendut appointed as a proxy by a participant in the proceedings). Lawyers’ and counsels' fces are spedfied in the regulations of the Minister of Justiec issucd under the Act - The Law on the Bar and the Act on legał counsel*.¹¹

The costs related to the activity of a participant m proceedings, in tur*, includc the costs of appearing in person bcforc the court. and in particulw such person’s travclling costs and an cquivaicnl of lost eaming (Art. % § 2 and § 3 of the Codę of Civil Procedurę).

As already mentioned. legał aid consists, besides esemption from coun costs, of appointmcnt of an attomcy-at-law or a legał counsel. Now wt shałl discuss the lattcr issue in morę detail.

The Act on court costs in civil cases introduced the Chaptcr "Ex officio Legał Aid” into the codę of civil procedurę (Art. 117-124 of the Codę) Thcse regulations spedfy that the party to proceedings who is cxcmptoi cnlircly or in part from court costs under the Act or on the basis of a court’s dedsion can submit a petilion for the appointment of a lawyer (so-called public attorncy at law) or a legał counsel.

If such petition is submitted by a party cnjoying statutory excmpti(W from court costs. such party shall dcmonstralc in a statemcnl containia* the dctails of family status, property. incomcs and sources of maintenana that hc/shc is not able. without detnment to his/her maintcnancc as wdl as that of his/her family. to incur the burden of the costs of rcmuneration for an attorncy at law or a legał counsel. The petition should bc submitted to the court whcrc the action is to bc inslituled or is already pending. A party having rcsidcnce outsidc the jurisdiction of such court can submit the petition to the local court compctcnt for such pcrson's place of residcncc which court shall send the petition to the court conccrncd.

The court shall accept such petition if il considcrs the partidpation cf attorncy at law or a counsel ncccssary. The court addresses the compctet District Bar Coundl or the District Council of the Chambcr of Legał Counsels for appointing an attorncy at law or a legał counsel.

The court withdraws the appointmcnt of an attorncy or a counsel if i*, turns out that the drcumstances on the basis of which the aid was granteć did not cxist or ccascd to cxist

" RcguUtioo* of ihc Minister of Jutfice of Septonber 23. 2002. on lawycn' fccj and incumng by the Sute Treawiry the co»U of unpud legał ud gjve« cx olTićo and on kpi oounneit' feet and mcurrrog by tbe Sute Treauiry the costł of lega) aid pvcn by lega! counat* appeinted ex ofGcio (I. of L. No. 163. itnas 13*8 and 1349).

The problem of reimburscmcnl of the costs of tria! is rcgulatod in tbc C.C.P. Its provi»ons regulatc the issues of who should rcimbursc the costs of tiial and in what amount. Thcrc arc ccrtain principles ruling in this area. The primary principlc is that of rcsponsibiliiy for the rcsult of litigation according to which the party losing should rcimbursc the costs incurrcd by the party winning. This principlc has sonie csccptions. And thus, following the principlc of proportional cost distribution, bcing an adjustment of the principlc of responsibility for the rcsult of litigation to a situalion in which cithcr of tbc partie* has lost and has won in part, cithcr party has to rcimbursc the costs to an cxtcnt corrcsponding to the degree of losing the case. In a siluation whcrc either party has partly lost and would bc obliged to rcimbursc costs in the same amount to tbc opponcnl. the principle of mulual cancclling of costs is applied. This principlc is also applicable when partie* scttlc the matter by conciliation, unless they decide olhcrwisc. In justified cases the losing party is obliged to rcimbursc only part of the oosts to tbc opponcnl (the principlc of nghtness). The principlc of fault, on the Other hand, mcans that rcgardlcss of the rcsult of trial, a party or another pirtidpant in the proceedings should rcimbursc the costs which arosc through thetr fault or misconduct.

The qucstion of to what amount the costs arc reimbursablc is governcd by the principle of neccssary costs according lo which such reimburscmcnl refers only to costs neccssary for the purposcful asserting of one's rights and purposcful dcfcncc. The neccssary costs of litigation conductcd by a party in person or by a proxy who is not an attorncy or legał counsel includc the costs which they incurrcd, costs of travel to court and an equivalcnt of carnings lost as a rcsult of appcarance at court. The nccessary costs of litigation also include the costs of mediation undertaken becausc the court has ruled this manner of settling the case.

Moreovcr, the neccssary costs of litigation of the party represemod by an attorncy. a counsel or a patent attorncy includc rcmuneration for one legał agent, court costs and the costs of the court-ordered pcrsonal appcarance of the party in court.

If a party want* to recover the costs of litigation, such party should, under pain of cxpiry of claim for cost recovery. submit the list of costs or an application for granting them in accordance with regulations beforc the beanng prcceding the finał ruling in the proceedings at this level is closed. The court rules ex officio only on the costs owed to a party acting without an expert professional agent (attorncy, legał counsel).

It is worth noticing the simplification and improvcmcnt of procedurę of ofdcring litigation cost rccovcry thanks to introducing the possibility that tbc court decides only about the principles according to which the partics covcr the costs, leasing their prccise całculation to a competent court official