Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) is the name given to the common court of the first instance in Poland. Regional Courts are called upon to hear a wide range of cases related to the scope of civil, criminal, family and guardianship, labour and social security and economic law.
Decisions of the Regional Courts are normally subject to appeal, typically to the District Courts (Sąd Rejonowy) for the area in which the regional court is located.
The Regional Courts are established and abolished by way of a regulation issued by the Minister of Justice in consultation with the National Council of the Judiciary in Poland. One Regional Court is established to have jurisdiction over one or more communes, however, under justified circumstances more than one Regional Court may be established to have jurisdiction over only one commune.
The Regional Court is composed of departments (depending on the needs) as follows:
The Minister of Justice may issue a regulation on creating the out-of-town departments which are outside the main seat of the Regional Court and based in other towns/cities (e.g. 2013-2014, The Regional Court in Piła, VII Civil Department based in Złotów).