Abstract

According to the position of the Polish Supreme Court (PSC) a man who admits his paternity is so-calledlegal father of the child, which means that as of this moment he becomes the subject of paternal rights and obligations even if he is not the biological father of the child. One of the consequences of this situation is that the man may not invoke Art. 410 and 405 of the Polish Civil Code (PCC) to claim back child support expenses he provided for the child if it has been established by a court that the act of acknowledgement is futile. The author of this comment disagrees with PSC’s opinion. He points out that the institution of legal fatherhood is unknown to the Polish legal system. According to the provisions of the Polish family law the father of a child is the man who inseminates child’s mother (or whose sperm has been used to inseminate her). That means that only such man is the subject of paternal rights and obligations. Consequently, the man whose admission of paternity has been found futile (i.e. he is not the child’s father) by court may, under Art. 410 and 405 of the PCC, claim back child support expenses he has provided for the child. The provisions of Art. 409 in principio and Art. 411.1 and 411.2 of the PCC do not apply in this case.