The Act of 6 November 2008 on Patients' Rights and the Commissioner for Patients' Rights collect and safeguard patients' basic rights as well as provide, for the first time in Poland, an original concept for patients' collective rights. In addition, the new Act stipulates the specific mechanism for protecting patients' rights by the newly established body called the Commissioner for Patients' Rights. Polish reform of medical law will undoubtedly contribute to the expected ratification of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. However, the nature of codified rights is relatively abstract, and the Act cannot be read without reference to legislation related to physicians and health care institutions.

The applicable rules on jurisdiction and conflict of laws do not preclude situations in which the law of one country governs dissolution of the marriage, while the law of the other is applicable to the alimony claims between the former spouses. These kinds of rules cause difficulties for courts resolving family disputes, if in a particular legal system the regulation on maintenance between formers spouses is closely linked to the rules governing dissolution of marriage. Further complications occur when the law governing the divorce does not provide for ruling on the matrimonial fault and the maintenance claims are governed by the law, under which, like in the case of article 60 of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, the existence, extent or duration of the maintenance obligations between former spouses are dependent on the ruling on the fault. The principal aim of the article is to analyse legal issues related to claiming alimony on the basis of article 60 of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, when the foreign law governs dissolution of the marriage. Due to the complex character of these issues international rules on jurisdiction and conflict of laws, as well as domestic rules of material and procedural character shall be analysed.

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