According to the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, when deciding a divorce, the court also decides whether and which spouse is to blame for the breakdown of the marriage. However, at the unanimous request of the spouses, the court decides not to adjudicate on the fault. In this case, the consequences are as if neither spouse was at fault. There is also a need to mention negative divorce grounds. Adjudication of divorce is not possible if it would damage the well-being of the minor children of the spouses or if for other reasons the divorce would be contrary to the principles of social coexistence. Divorce is also not admissible if it is requested by a spouse who is only guilty of the breakdown of the marriage, unless the other spouse agrees to the divorce or that the refusal of his consent to divorce is, in the given circumstances, contrary to the principles of social coexistence.
A foreign judgment cannot be recognized if, inter alia, its recognition would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the legal order of the Republic of Poland. Pursuant to the decision of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw of October 3, 1997 (file reference number I Acz 472/97, Appeal-Warsaw 1998, No. 1, item 10), „the fundamental principles of the legal order of the Republic of Poland include between in other words, the principle of the permanence of a marriage, which may be dissolved only under certain conditions in a manner prescribed by law. In particular, it is unacceptable to divorce without being guilty of taking into account the request of one of the spouses without the spouse being able to comment on this issue „. Therefore, it should be remembered that the recognition of a foreign divorce judgment may be made only if the judgment meets the conditions set out in Polish law, i.e. There are no negative grounds for divorce, there is a possible unanimous request of the spouses not to adjudicate on the fault.
In other legal orders, however, there may not be an element of adjudication on the spouses’ guilt. Following the ruling of the Supreme Court of 18 January 2002 (file reference number I CKN 722/99), „the ruling of a foreign court violates the fundamental principles of the legal order in Poland, including when its effect is incompatible with the very concept of a specific legal institution in Poland, and not only with individual provisions regulating the same institution in both countries „.
Considering the above, it should be emphasized that in Polish law it is possible to order a divorce without establishing the spouses’ guilt, and thus a foreign divorce judgment should be recognized when there is no judgment of guilt (decision of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw of March 28, 2006 (on reference number I ACa 1183/05).