Michał Jachowicz, Michał Kobylarz

Dispensing medicinal products to minors by community pharmacies and the invalidity of legal acts

2026-04-17

Subject of the study. This publication examines the impact of civil law regulations on legal capacity in the context of dispensing medicinal products to minors by community pharmacies. The provision of a pharmaceutical service constitutes the performance of an obligation undertaken by the entity operating a community pharmacy under a contract concluded with the patient. In order for the parties’ performances under the contract to be considered due and enforceable, it is necessary for that contract to constitute a valid legal act. Limiting the analysis solely to the provisions of the Pharmaceutical Law is insufficient and requires supplementation by the context of civil law and tax law regulations. Particular attention should be paid to the provisions of the Civil Code governing the principles of performing legal acts, including the conclusion of contracts by persons lacking legal capacity and by those with limited legal capacity, as they are of key importance for determining the admissibility of concluding a contract for the provision of a pharmaceutical service with a minor — a contract that constitutes the legal basis for dispensing a medicinal product to that person by a community pharmacy.

Research objective. The aim of this paper is to present the perspective of a pharmaceutical service consisting in the dispensing of a medicinal product to a minor within the framework of: (i) the Pharmaceutical Law, (ii)    civil law, and (iii)   to a specified extent also tax law.

Materials and methods. The study employs the formal-dogmatic method, which involves the analysis of binding legal acts while taking into account: (i) case law and (ii) legal doctrine.

Results and conclusions. The complexity of the subject matter makes it difficult to formulate unequivocal conclusions. In this context, of fundamental importance are both the intrinsic complexity of the contract for the provision of a pharmaceutical service and the legal and tax consequences arising from its performance, as well as the substantive legal classification of the subject matter of the contract with respect to the parties’ capacity and competence to enter into it. The significant limitation of a minor’s capacity to enter into contracts appears, as a rule, to call into question the possibility of concluding a contract for the provision of a pharmaceutical service or, at the very least, creates a state of considerable uncertainty regarding its validity. In particular, it seems that a contract for the provision of a pharmaceutical service cannot be classified as an agreement commonly concluded in minor, everyday matters of daily life. It therefore appears that the most appropriate recommendation is a de lege ferenda proposal to introduce into the Pharmaceutical Law a provision establishing an exception to the rules arising from the Civil Code. However, it should be borne in mind that adopting such a solution could significantly limit the protection of minors by excluding the supervision of their legal representatives over the conclusion of such contracts.

Keywords: pharmaceutical service, dispensing of a medicinal product, legal capacity, minor, pharmacy, pharmacist, Pharmaceutical Law, Civil Code.

© Farm Pol, 2025, 81(9): 541–550