Mediation could be more beneficial than court rulings, Poland's audit office suggests

Poland's Supreme Audit Office (NIK) is advocating for a change in how public administration resolves disputes with entrepreneurs. The office proposes that officials should move away from viewing court proceedings as the sole or safest method for settling disagreements.

NIK suggests that embracing mediation could offer a more beneficial outcome than lengthy court battles. The audit office plans to scrutinize whether the reluctance to use mediation constitutes financial mismanagement. This investigation is particularly critical given the substantial sums at stake, estimated in the billions of zlotys, which also include funds from the European Union.

The core of NIK's concern is that by consistently opting for litigation over alternative dispute resolution methods, public bodies might be incurring unnecessary costs and inefficiencies. The audit aims to determine if this pattern of avoiding mediation leads to economic losses for the state.