Cessio legis During Court Proceedings for Payment: Withdrawal of the Suit with a Waiver of the Claim Resulting in Damage to the Purchaser of the Claim

Abstract

The article is of a scientific-research nature. The author based her conclusions on the literature and jurisdiction regarding the assignment of claims and on the withdrawal of a lawsuit with a waiver of the claim. A hypothetical situation is presented, in which a plaintiff, during the proceedings concerning the claim for payment, assigns to a third party a claim covered by the lawsuit, after entering into a dispute. A purchaser of a claim is entitled to enter the proceedings, pursuant to Article 192 point 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, with the consent of the opposing party (defendant). In practice, the judicature extends the interpretation of this provision to the consent of both parties to the proceedings. The problem arises in a situation in which the plaintiff does not consent to the purchaser of the claim being replaced. The latter may thus be deprived of court proceedings through no fault of his own. In addition, the current plaintiff no longer has any interest in continuing the proceedings and may withdraw the lawsuit with a waiver of the claim. The effect of waiving the claim will be, in a way, releasing the defendant from his debt, and thus changing the nature of the claim into natural obligation. The above-mentioned action of the plaintiff, the seller of the claim in the process, will cause damage to the purchaser of the claim up to the amount of the withdrawn lawsuit together with the waiver of the claim. The article indicates the possibility of a broader perspective on subjective changes in the process and the material and legal effects of the parties’ formal actions.