Movable property

1. Legislation governing the execution against movable property

Enforcement against movable property is regulated by Article 844 - 879 Code of Civil Proceedings.

2. The concept of movable property

Movable property is anything that is not:

• land
• building permanently attached to the land, and
• parts of such building, if under special detailed regulations it constitutes property separate from the land
• a component part of real property.

The following is not movable property:

• liquids and gases in the unbound state (water, air) - after being encased in an closed vessel, they become movable property
• unextracted mineral deposits - following extraction minerals become movable property
• wild animals living at large (birds, land animals, aquatic animals) - following domestication they become movable property
• personal property specified in Article23 of the Code of Civil Proceedings 5.)goods that are subject to copyrights (works of marks
• energy (in its various forms: nuclear, electric)
• goods specified in the industrial property law, such as industrial designs, inventions.

3. Jurisdiction of the judicial officer in execution against movable property

Execution against movable is a capacity of the judicial officer. The judicial officer shall initiate the execution against movable property by its seizure The provisions of Polish law on execution provide for execution of fractional part of movable property. The judicial officer carries out seizure by entering movable property into the seizure protocol. The seizure results in that the disposal of the movable property following the seizure has no bearing on the further course of the proceedings, and the enforcement against the movable property may be continued against the buyer.

4. Seizure of movable property

Assessment of the seized movables shall be conducted by the judicial officer. In cases stipulated by the provisions of the law, the assessment should be performed by a court appointed expert.

Each article of movable property shall be marked by the judicial officer with a mark outwardly designating its seizure, and if that is not practicable, the judicial officer shall make the seizure known by other means.

The judicial officer shall leave the seized movable property to be held by the person at whose location it was seized. The judicial officer may, for valid reasons at each state of the proceedings, leave the seized movable property under the supervision of a different person. Such person shall also include a creditor. For valid reasons the judicial officer may release the caretaker and establish another.

There are the following methods of sale of seized movables:

• sale by private treaty
• sale to a trade company
• sale on commission
• sale at auction
• taking ownership of movable property by enforcing creditor.

5. General principles of the public auction

Principles and procedures for conducting public auction shall be governed by the Regulation of the Minister of Justice on Actions of Judicial Officers of 9 March 1968.

The following may not participate in the auction:

• the debtor
• the judicial officer
• spouses of the debtor or the judicial officer
• children of the judicial officer
• personnel of the consignment store where the auction takes place
• and persons present at the auction in an official capacity.

The auction starts with naming of the starting bid. The starting price on the first date of the public auction shall be three quarters of the estimated value. If the auction does not take place on the first date, the seized movables may be sold at the auction on the second date.

The starting price on the second auction date shall be half of the estimated value. That price is the lowest price at which the movable property can be disposed of at an auction.One bidder is sufficient for the auction to take place.

The bidding is conducted orally.

The judicial officer shall announce the winning bid of the bidder offering the highest price, if after the third call for a higher bid, no further bids have been offered.

The announcement of the highest bid concludes the sale of the movable property for the benefit of the buyer.

If the first auction of movable property has been canceled, the creditor may, within 2 weeks of the receipt of the judicial officer's notice, request that the second auction be scheduled. The creditor may take ownership of movable property after the first or the second auction Acquisition of movable property requires that a request be filed by the creditor.

Anyone purchasing goods pursuant to the provisions of Article844-849 CCP shall become their owner without any encumbrances and should take possession of such goods immediately.