The State Treasury as an entity responsible for climate change in private law

Skarb Państwa jako podmiot odpowiedzialny za zmiany klimatyczne w prawie prywatnym

Bibliogr. s. 104-105

The article discusses possible grounds for the state's responsibility for the consequences of climate change under Polish private law. There have been few pending cases in this respect, but the problem has as of the date hereof not been resolved by Polish courts. At the sane time the same question has already been debated by many non-Polish courts, and the wave of private claims for consequences of climate change seems to be building up. Although superficially, these cases seem analogous to cases involving protection of the right to an environment free of pollution, climate claims raise many additional questions that Polish courts have not yet been confronted with. Courts are faced particularly with the problems of causation, proof of damage, illegality of the state inaction or action non-adequate to international declarations and the problem called the drop in the Ocean, among others. The climate litigation could be successful under Polish regime only if flexible, nonconservative approach to several private law institutions is adopted. Few foreign courts implemented such flexible approach providing to the members of society legal instruments to challenge national climate policies. It is proposed that such approach is legitimate under Polish legal regime, but the final answer depends on balancing the values at stake.