The right to serve letters - a broad overview

The principle of delivering letters

There is a common misconception among people that in the event of failure to collect the letter addressed to us, failure to collect the correspondence does not have any consequences, because we have not been provided with a letter which we should read. In order to prevent such evasion of liability, the legislator introduced the institution of substitute service in the Code of Civil Procedure and Administrative Procedure. In the article we present what the right to service of letters consists of.

What if we do not pick up the letter in person?

When examining the issue of substitute service, it should be clarified that in the absence of the addressee in the apartment, the entity performing the service has the right to deliver the document to the adult household member, and in the event of his absence or absence, the document may be delivered to the house administrator, the caretaker or the competent municipal authority. The condition for such service is that there is no dispute between these entities and the addressee of the letter, moreover, these entities must undertake to deliver correspondence to the addressee. Please note that this rule applies only to the delivery of letters to natural persons.

For the sake of clarity of understanding the whole issue, it is worth explaining the concept of an "adult household member". According to the Code of Civil Procedure, a household member is understood as a person who is in a common household with the addressee of the letter. However, there is no requirement for such a person to have any authorization to receive correspondence. The effectiveness of the letter delivery in the above-described case is the fact that it is actually delivered to the addressee. Only then can substitute service be regarded as having been properly effected. However, if the person receiving the correspondence does not pass it on to the addressee, of course not.

What is the fiction of the service of letters?

The above considerations can be called the so-called legal fiction of service. Although the very word "fiction" does not sound credible and at first glance seems to contradict the effectiveness of delivery, such a solution is aimed at preventing the extension of the case or avoiding liability to the recipient of the letter. Upon the delivery of the letter fictitiously, important deadlines for the addressee, such as: payment of court costs, lodging an appeal or complaint, fines for failure to appear in court, pass. This may result in enforcement actions by the bailiff, and thus in the loss of additional money.