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HANDWRITTEN SIGNATURE AS A CONSTRUCTIONAL COMPONENT OF A FORM OF LEGAL ACT IN THE POLISH CIVIL LAW
Abstract
The aim of this article is to clarify doubts arising on the grounds of the application of the legal provisions normalizing the forms of legal acts where the necessary component is as follows: a handwritten signature on the document constituting a statement of will of the person submitting this document. The problems regarding the signature usually refer to the following issues: what should the signature express, is it sufficient to only indicate the surname, should the signature be legible, what shape of letters is acceptable when affixing the signature, where should the graphic sign constituting the signature be affixed on the document. The discussion is based on normative material, literature and case law. The dogmatic method and, to a lesser extent, the comparative method have been used for the executed research analysis. The conclusions are as follows: first of all, a signature is a linguistic graphic sign containing at least a surname, allowing to identify the author of the statement of will; secondly, the ability to only sign the document is enough for a person to submit a statement of will in a written form. The above conclusions have been duly justified, thus it should be assumed that the theses expressed in the article shall contribute to the consolidation of the views on the issue of the handwritten signature expressed in both the literature and the jurisprudence.
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References14
cf. G. Strojek, in: Kodeks cywilny. Komentarz, vol. I ed.: M. Habdas, M. Fras, Warszawa 2018, p. 748.
cf. Z. Radwański, in: System Prawa Prywatnego. Prawo cywilne – część ogólna, vol. 2 ed.: Z. Radwański, p. 129 et seq.
cf. A. Bieliński, Charakter podpisu w polskim prawie cywilnym materialnymi procesowym, Warsaw 2007, p. 5-9.
cf. Resolution by the seven judges of the Supreme Court of December 30, 1993, III CZP 146/93, OSNCP 1994, no. 5, item 94.
cf. W. Kocot, gloss to the decision of the Supreme Court of April 27, 2016, II CSK 518/15, Orzecznictwo Sądów Polskich 2017, z. 1 item 2.
Resolution by the Supreme Court of April 23, 1960, CO 8/60, Orzecznictwo Sądu Najwyższego, Warsaw 1961, z. 1, item. 27; resolution by the seven judges of the Supreme Court of April 28, 1973, III CZP 78/72, Orzecznictwo Sądu Najwyższego, Warsaw 1973, z. 12, item 207).
Judgment by the Supreme Court of April 27 2016 r., II CSK 518/15, Orzecznictwo Sądów Polskich, Warsaw 2017, z.1, item 2; http://www.sn.pl/sites/orzecznictwo/Orzeczenia3/II%20CSK%20518-15-1.pdf
cf. K. Knoppek, Dokument w procesie cywilnym, Poznań 1993, pp. 39 – 40.
Resolution by the seven judges of the Supreme Court of June 5, 1992, III CZP 41/92, Orzecznictwo Sądu Najwyższego [Decisions by the Supreme Court], Warsaw 1992, no. 9, item 147
cf. the entry „signature”, in: Słownik języka polskiego, ed. M. Szymczak, Warsaw 1996, vol. II, p. 711.
Judgment by the Supreme Court of January 20, 2012, I CSK 373/11, http://www.sn.pl/sites/orzecznictwo/orzeczenia2/i%20csk%20373-11-1.pdf
M. Allerhand, Prawo o notariacie, Lviv 1934, p. 107.
cf. resolution by the Supreme Court of December 30, 1993, III CZP 146/93, Orzecznictwo Sądu Najwyższego, Warsaw 1994, no. 5, item 94 and the judgement by the Supreme Court of June 27, 2007, II CSK 124/07, Orzecznictwo Sądu Najwyższego, Warsaw 2008, no. 9, item 112.
Decision by the Supreme Court of June 17, 2009, IV CSK 78/09, http://www.sn.pl/sites/orzecznictwo/Orzeczenia2/IV%20CSK%2078-09-1.pdf
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