Verdict of the Court of Appeals in Wrocław 1st Civil Division of 20th November 2013
I ACa 1232/13

1. The court is obligated to hear evidence from the expert’s opinion if it arrives at a conviction that a circumstance of substantial significance for the correct settlement of the case may be explained exclusively as a result of taking advantage of the know-how of a person possessing specialist knowledge. In such a situation, evidence from an expert’s opinion may not be replaced by other evidence activities or reasoning. In particular, using specialist knowledge from other proceedings is inadmissible. Such an activity glaringly violates the fundamental principles and norms of procedural law, disqualifying an adjudication made on this basis.
2. For the findings which require specialist knowledge to become a component of evidentiary material submitted for assessment, they must adopt the form specified in Article 278 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure, i.e. the form of an opinion of an expert or experts or an appropriate institute.
3. For the assessment of the correctness of introducing the evidence from expert opinion into the proceedings, adherence to the rules in the scope of admitting evidence concerning the designation of the scope of the opinion, selection of a specific expert, “verification” of their qualifications, and receiving their oath which are provided for in Article 278 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure is of significance. This should be preceded by the hearing of the parties, which is to guarantee a selection of a person holding required qualifications and ensuring a guarantee of preparing a high-quality opinion, while guaranteeing a party a possibility of assessment of the correctness and usefulness of an opinion thus prepared.