Every factual claim in a KORDECKI & Partners report carries a source citation. This page explains what that citation contains, what it guarantees, and where the chain of evidence stops.
- What a citation contains
- Registry name, access point, and retrieval date. No claim appears without all three.
- What "retrieval date" means
- The date on which the record was extracted from the source system — not the date the underlying fact arose.
- What a citation does not guarantee
- That the record reflects the current legal position. Registers record what was filed; they do not record what was not.
- Verification standard
- Each source is classified as Level A (primary — official register, direct extraction) or Level B (secondary — derived or aggregated). Level determines how the fact is worded in the report.
Why source citation matters for collateral assessment
A foreign buyer or lender examining a Polish asset needs to know what encumbers it and what it is actually worth. Those two questions draw on different registers, and each register has a defined scope. A citation that names the register and the retrieval date tells the reader exactly what was checked and when. It also tells the reader what was not checked — because a source not cited is a source not consulted.
Collateral value is not a single number from a single place. It emerges from layering records: the land register entry, the mortgage schedule, the enforcement register, the insolvency register, and — where relevant — the pledge register. Each layer carries its own retrieval date. A gap between dates across layers is itself a finding: it means the picture was not assembled at a single moment in time.
The three-level citation standard
KORDECKI & Partners applies a three-level standard to every factual statement in every report.
| Level | Condition | How the fact is worded | Example phrasing |
|---|---|---|---|
| A — Exact | Record present in the source system, direct extraction, date confirmed | Stated precisely: figure, date, register reference | "Mortgage of PLN X registered on [date], KW number [number]." |
| B — Approximate | Figure known from a secondary or aggregated source; no primary register entry | Generalised: "in the range of", "approximately" | "Encumbrance in the range of PLN X–Y, per creditor filing." |
| C — Mechanism only | Figure unknown or unavailable; source does not publish the value | Mechanism described without a number | "The tariff is set by the registrar and published in its official fee schedule." |
A Level C statement is not a failure. It is an accurate statement of what the source allows. A figure inserted where only a mechanism is known is a fabrication — not a service.
What Polish registers disclose and how that is cited
Polish property and collateral records are held across several official systems. Each has a distinct scope, access condition, and update cycle. The citation for each record names the system from which it was drawn.
| Register | What it discloses | What it does not disclose | Citation element added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Księgi Wieczyste (Land Register) | Ownership, mortgages, easements, rights of third parties | Informal arrangements; rights arising by operation of law not yet filed | KW number, section, retrieval date |
| Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) | Legal form, registered seat, share capital, management board, filed financial statements | Beneficial ownership beyond the registered layer; unfiled changes | KRS number, retrieval date |
| Rejestr Zastawów (Pledge Register) | Registered pledges over movable assets and rights | Possessory pledges; pledges not submitted for registration | File number, retrieval date |
| Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ — Insolvency Register) | Insolvency and restructuring proceedings; enforcement restrictions | Proceedings filed but not yet entered; historical records removed after statutory periods | KRZ reference, retrieval date |
| CRBR (Beneficial Ownership Register) | Declared ultimate beneficial owners of Polish legal entities | Accuracy of declarations; chains passing through non-Polish entities | CRBR entry date, retrieval date |
Retrieval date and the gap problem
A retrieval date is not a guarantee of current status. Polish registers are updated on filing, not in real time. A mortgage can be registered between the date of extraction and the date of a transaction closing. A proceeding can be filed in KRZ after the report is delivered.
The citation makes this visible. When a report states "Księgi Wieczyste, retrieved 2026-07-08" and the transaction closes on 2026-07-14, the reader knows there is a six-day window. That window is a commercial risk to be allocated — not a defect in the report.
Where a report covers multiple registers extracted on different dates, each citation carries its own date. The widest gap between extraction dates is noted explicitly in the report's methodology summary.
What happens when registers disagree
The limit of what the sources allow
The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated before payment. For Polish collateral work, that ceiling has three recurring edges.
First: the land register shows what was filed, not what exists. An unregistered mortgage — a financial institution's contractual mortgage not yet submitted to the court — does not appear in Księgi Wieczyste. The register is conclusive for third parties acting in good faith, but it is not exhaustive as a description of encumbrances.
Second: the insolvency register shows proceedings that have been entered. A petition filed yesterday may not appear until the court makes an entry. A negative result in KRZ is not proof of absence — it is proof that no entry existed on the retrieval date.
Third: CRBR shows declared beneficial owners. The accuracy of those declarations is not verified by the register. Where the ownership chain passes through a non-Polish entity, the Polish register stops at the Polish layer. What lies above that layer requires extraction from the relevant foreign register — each of which has its own access conditions, language, and filing lag.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancy between registers is a finding, not an anomaly to be smoothed over. Common patterns in Polish collateral work:
- KRS shows a share capital figure that does not match the most recently filed financial statements — indicating an increase or decrease not yet reflected in one of the two sources.
- The land register shows a mortgage in favour of a creditor that does not appear in the debtor's filed balance sheet — indicating either an off-balance-sheet liability or a stale register entry.
- The pledge register shows a registered pledge over assets described in a way that does not match the current inventory — indicating either asset disposal or a description error at filing.
Each discrepancy is reported as a discrepancy, with both sources cited. The report does not resolve the discrepancy by choosing one source over another. Resolution requires legal analysis, which is a separate instruction.
Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. KORDECKI & Partners assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@kordeckipartners.com.