Until the coming into force of the Maritime Code of 1 December 1961 (on 15 June 1962), the contract of maritime agency in Poland was regulated by the decisions of the German Commercial Code of 10 May 1897. The Polish Commercial Code determined the first part of the commercial code codification. The succeeding parts were to regulate inter alia the whole of commercial maritime regulations. Unfortunately, this aim was not fulfilled, because of the Second World War. This led to a strange situation: post-war Poland still maintained old, 19th century German regulations, which did not suit the already existing new economic relations. Since 1945, the functions of a maritime agent (and a shipbroker) were performed by miscellaneous firms (small, medium-sized and large) in the shape of companies and enterprises, whether private, co-operative or state-run, which competed with each other. Since 1951 (i.e., during the peak period of the Stalin era in Poland), two monopolistic enterprises replaced the existing agency firms: the Maritime Agency in Gdynia (for ports in Gdansk, Gdynia, Darlowo and Ustka) and the Maritime Agency in Szczecin (for Szczecin, Świnoujście, Kolobrzeg). Both state-run enterprises perform all the functions of a maritime agent and broker. The company articles of these enterprises were broadly extended and included the following services: clearance of ships; liner agents; shipbrokers; P. & I. Club representatives/correspondents; ship delivery; sea-going pilotage; recruiting and supplying sea-going personnel for foreign shipowners (since 1989); and chartering services (intermediaries in concluding contracts of carriage). Time charters were solely rendered by a state-run enterprise, Polfracht).

The agency contract in general is ruled by the Polish Civil Code, specifically by Arts. 758–764. Provisions on maritime agency inserted in the Maritime Code, Arts. 197–203, are lex specialis in relation to regulations on agency in the Civil Code. According to a Roman rule lex specialis derogat legi generali, the contract of maritime agency is governed by provisions of the Maritime Code, but, in the absence of provisions of the Maritime Code, provisions of the civil law are applicable to the civil law relations incidental to maritime shipping.1 On this basis, Arts. 761(1), 762 and 764 of the Civil Code will be able to be applied to maritime agency (with