In a case handled by attorney Maciej Obrębski and legal counsel Jakub Dobkiewicz, the Kraków Regional Court ordered the National Support Centre for Agriculture to return a property located in the Małopolskie Voivodeship to the heirs of the pre-war owners. The property was seized by the State Treasury in the 1940s as part of an agricultural reform. It was once part of a larger manor-park complex, and following the reform, the owners’ estate was parcelled out and taken over by the State Treasury under the PKWN Decree of September 6, 1944. However, the Regional Court confirmed that there was no legal basis for the seizure of this specific plot.
A key issue in the trial was the State Treasury’s claim of adverse possession of the property, arguing that the period of adverse possession began in 1947. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs’ representatives argued that there were real limitations on the former landowners’ ability to pursue ownership claims during the People’s Republic of Poland era. Specifically, a law from March 12, 1958, excluded the right to judicial review in many cases involving properties seized by the State. Therefore, the prevailing factual situation at the time is now referred to as a “suspension of justice.”
The Regional Court accepted the argument that during the PRL era, the heirs of the landowners objectively did not have the opportunity to effectively pursue their rights. Both regulations excluding judicial oversight of state authorities’ decisions and widespread practices preventing the restoration of the original state of possession stood in the way. It was not until the systemic changes and the repeal of restrictive regulations in 1992 that the path was opened for seeking the return of seized properties.
In the case in question, the court ruled in favour of the heirs, stating that the plot never underwent agricultural reform and its seizure by the state was without legal basis. This effectively excluded the State Treasury’s acquisition of ownership through adverse possession. The judgment is final.
