The Court system

In Poland the courts, with the Supreme Court at their head, together with the independent State Tribunal and Constitutional Tribunal, ensure the independence of the judiciary.

The jurisdiction in Poland is performed by the Supreme Court, the common courts and special courts.

The Supreme Court supervises the adjudication in:
• General courts - include district, regional, and appeal courts; are competent to hear criminal law cases, civil law cases, family and custody law cases, labour law cases and social insurance cases. The seriousness of the offense determines which is the court of first instance. Misdemeanors (wykroczenia, występki- mostly traffic violations) generally are handled by panels of "social adjudicators," who are elected by local government councils.

• Administrative courts - a separate court system which deals with adjudication on the legal compliance of decisions taken by administrative bodies. It also settles cases between legal persons (corporations) or private citizens and administrative bodies.
• Military courts - that is military circuit / provincial courts and garrison / military unit courts. They deal with matters relating to crimes committed by soldiers in active service, civilian employees in military units, and prisoners of war. They have judiciary control within the Polish Army in criminal cases and other cases that were subscribed to them by relevant statutes.

The Polish Constitution and other laws make a number of due process guarantees. Some of these include:

An equal right to be heard by a court of law.

All hearings, unless specified by law, are open to the public.

Defendants have a right to counsel, and are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The right to remain silent in the face of criminal accusations. An accused's silence may not be used against him or her at trial.

As a rule the accused has a right to be present at every action of the evidentiary proceedings at trial, and his/her presence at the main trial is mandatory.

Unlike the American legal system, the Polish legal system remains largely inquisitorial, rather than adversarial. Polish judges remain responsible for calling and questioning witnesses in order to ascertain the facts of the case, although more adversarial procedures have come into practice, such as allowing the parties and their counsel to address questions directly to witnesses at trial.

Courts are largely staffed by professional judges, but the Constitution does embrace the principle of public participation in the judicial process.

-In most criminal trials of first instance, the court traditionally sits in a panel consisting of one professional judge and two lay assessors, unless otherwise provided by law. A majority of the panel determines both guilt and sentencing in criminal cases.

-When a case is highly complex, the President of the Court may call for the case to be heard by three professional judges.

-In less serious criminal cases, at the first and appellate instance levels, a case may be handled by a single judge through summary and expedited proceedings.

-For most civil cases a single professional judge is most common, the same is in labor and social security cases, as well as in family cases.

1. District Courts

courts of first instance for a wide variety of areas, such as criminal, civil, commercial, labour, family, land and mortgage matters(concentrate on minor, routine offenses) .

the courts traditionally sat in panels consisting of one professional judge and two lay assessors, but, in practice, most cases are now being heard only by a single professional judge.

2. Regional Courts / Provincial Courts

the second tier of courts in Poland

have competency over appeals against judgments of District Courts = consider appeals of the district court verdicts

also serve as courts of first instance for specific cases as defined by law (usually more serious or complicated cases involving serious crimes, complex civil suits, divorce, etc) = take on more serious cases

3. Appelate Courts / Courts of Appeal

are charged solely with appeals

function as the courts of second instance

hear appeals from judgments passed in the first instance by the Regional Courts

the Presidents of the Courts of Appeal exercise administrative supervision over the district and provincial courts within a given region.

4. Supreme Court

the highest judicial organ in Poland controlling the activity of all the courts.

has final appellate jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases= last resort of appeal against judgments in the lower courts

also has jurisdiction over other types of cases, such as electoral law, but it generally does not have jurisdiction over constitutional matters

additionally handles appeals through a cassation procedure

it may pass non-binding resolutions on the interpretation of laws= It passes resolutions to clarify specific legal provisions and resolve disputable questions in specific cases.
in addition to adjudicating cases that fall under its jurisdiction, the Supreme Court supervises all other courts.
The President of the Republic of Poland appoints Supreme Court justices/ judges from a list prepared by an independent National Judicial Council, and justices are appointed for life terms.

The President also selects the First President/ the First Chairman of the Supreme Court (The presiding officer of the Supreme Court) from candidates presented by the General / National Assembly of the Supreme Court of Justice.

5. Supreme Administrative Court

is organized as a single court based in Warsaw with branches in major cities that deals with the judicial review of administrative acts

the main function is to review and standardize administrative regulations enforced by government agencies and to hear citizens' complaints concerning the legality of administrative decisions. Mostly deals with taxes, social welfare issues, and local government decisions.

exercises control over the legality of local regulations

the President of the Republic appoints judges to this court
supervises public administration in order to safeguard its compliance within the law ( in other words it takes care of the administrative judiciary, has judicial control of public administration)

6. State Tribunal

deals with political and criminal infringements on the Constitution or other laws by high-ranking state officials= It is the judicial body, which rules on the constitutional liability of people holding the highest offices of state.

27 members of the Tribunal of State are elected by the Sejm for the term of the Sejm

judges in the State Tribunal are independent and bound only by the law
The First President of the Supreme Court / the chairperson serves as the ex officio chairperson of the Supreme Court

passes judgment on the guilt or innocence of the highest office holders in the land accused of violating the constitution and laws

It examines cases concerning the infringement of the Constitution and laws or crimes committed by the President of the Republic of Poland, members of the government , the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control, the President of the National Bank of Poland, heads of central administrative offices and other senior state officials.
The State Tribunal is empowered to rule for the removal of individuals from public office, to impose injunctions on individuals against their appointment to senior offices, to revoke an individual's right to vote and to stand for election, to withdraw previously awarded medals, distinctions, and titles of honour, and in criminal cases to impose penalties stipulated in the criminal code.
The composition of the State Tribunal is established at the first sitting of each new Sejm and is binding for its term.

The head of the office is the First President of the Supreme Court. His two deputies and 16 members of the State Tribunal are chosen from outside the Sejm. Members of the State Tribunal must hold Polish citizenship, may not have a criminal record or have had their civic rights revoked, nor may they be employed in the state administration.

7. Constitutional Tribunal

ensures the compliance of laws with the Constitution and of regulations with the law

this Tribunal is additionally charged with formulating "universally binding interpretations of the laws."

The Sejm selects the members of the Constitutional Tribunal "from among the persons, who are distinguished in the knowledge of law," to eight-year terms

The Constitution states that members of the Tribunal are fully independent and subject only to the Constitution. Individuals may not petition this body.

rules on the constitutionality of legislation, its decisions are final and binding

serves as the main body for the protection of the Constitution, its tasks being the review of the constitutionality of statutes, and the protection of constitutional order and fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

It is an organ of judiciary, competent to decide the conformity of the issued law with the Constitution, disputes concerning competence between the organs of central administration, the conformity of the political parties tasks with the Constitution and to hear constitutional complaints filed by citizens.

The Constitutional Tribunal is made up of 15 judges chosen by Sejm for nine-year terms.

The National Judicial Council / The National Council of the Judiciary

is an independent body of experts comprised primarily of judges, but includes representatives from other branches of government. Seventeen of the 26 members of the Council must be judges, with the others being legal professionals from the legislative or executive branches.

the main function of the Council is recommending judgeship candidates to the President, who officially makes the appointments

the Council determines whether a judge may be transferred from one court to another, sets the number of disciplinary judges, and comments on ethical issues and other matters concerning the judiciary, such as legislation and training.

another basic function of the body is to oversee the entire judiciary and establish professional standards.

t Administration

The Minister of Justice

supervises the administration of the courts

the Minister is responsible for establishing courts and providing them with adequate resources.

serves as The Prosecutor General - his mission is to safeguard law and order and ensure prosecution of crimes.

Ombudsman - Civil Right Intercessor - The Commissioner for Citizens' Rights - Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection

a body responsible for the protection of civil rights and liberties.

hears the complaints from the individuals and may take up steps to annul the breaches; has a right of initiative to eliminate the contradictions between the legal acts; sends conclusions to relevant organs in order to exercise their right of legislative initiative; influences the directions of interpretation of the law concerning civil right and liberties; and provides for the Parliament and the public opinion reports on the state of civil rights and liberties.

main task is to safeguard individual civil rights and liberties.

appointed to a four-year term by the Sejm with Senate approval; the commissioner is independent of other state agencies and answers only to the Sejm.

the commissioner's mandate is to investigate on behalf of individual citizens or organizations possible infractions of Polish law or basic principles of justice by public officials, institutions, or organizations.

although the commissioner may review the administration of the courts, he or she may intercede only in matters such as scheduling of cases.

in military or internal security matters, the commissioner does not investigate evidence but channels cases to the appropriate jurisdiction.

commissioner confronts the accused party and conveys official displeasure at a given action or policy. The commissioner also may request the initiation of civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings and appeal to the Constitutional Tribunal to review a law's constitutionality or consistency with a higher statute.

conducts systematic inspections of prisons in response to inmates' complaints. Following the inspections, the commissioner issued a comprehensive report, which has resulted in a more humane, less congested prison system.

A. Qualifications
Judicial selection is based on objective criteria and legal requirements. In order to qualify for appointment to the bench, judicial candidates must meet the following criteria:

Minimum age of 26 years

A legal education

Completion of a court-sponsored training program

Successful completion of the state judicial examination

Polish citizenship

B. Appointment
Judges are generally selected on a competitive basis by the courts.

• After graduating from law school (University departments), young lawyers may apply for special training within the courts ("aplikacja").

• Following two years of theoretical and practical training, which consists of both substantive law and judging skills, the judicial candidates must pass the state judicial examination.

• The head of the commission which administers the exam is the Minister of Justice or his representative.

• Based on the examination results, the Minister appoints (for up to two years) a limited number of apprentices/trainees who are entitled to sit in a judicial capacity in lower instance courts.

• After the interim trial period, these apprentices are examined by collective judicial bodies and the apprentices' files are submitted to the National Judicial Council.

• Upon motion by the National Council, the selected candidates are appointed by the President of the Republic of Poland to serve for life.

• Judges are nominated by the national judicial council and appointed by the President. They are appointed for life and can be reassigned but not dismissed, except by a court decision.
  

Lay assessors are appointed by local court presidents upon election by local councils (organizations of local administration elected in universal ballots) from among candidates presented by organizations, enterprises, groups of citizens and local court presidents.

• As a rule, they adjudicate for no more than 12 days per year.

• Lay assessors serve four year terms and may be reelected.

• Lay assessors have the same rights as career judges, and their decisions are treated with the same weight as those of professional judges.

• For example, in criminal matters, lay assessors decide both questions of guilt and the length of sentencing. Consequently, on the traditional court panel of one professional and two lay judges, lay judges may determine the outcome.

C. Salary and Promotion
Judges earn a multiple of the average salary in Poland, with the multiple determined by their court level.

District court judges earn 2.8 times the average salary, regional/provincial court judges 3 times, court of appeals judges 3.5 times and Supreme Court judges 5.7 times.

Salaries are not competitive with those of legal professionals in the private sector.

Judges are entitled to other benefits such as regular vacation and sick leave. Judges also participate in general pension schemes based on their salary levels.

Procedures for promotion are similar to those for appointments. Assemblies of judges and the National Judicial Council play the leading role in this process.
Judges are banned from being members of political parties

D. Professional Secrecy and Immunity
Judges enjoy basic immunity. Among other things, this immunity guarantees that judges are not subject to criminal proceedings without the agreement of the disciplinary court. Judges are not liable for damages resulting from improper acts or omissions that occur in the exercise of their judicial functions.
Judges may be compelled to testify, but may refuse to disclose information that is contrary to important state or private interests.

E. Ethics
A written code of judicial ethics per se does not yet exist in Poland. At present, this area is governed by the laws on the judiciary and the criminal code.

Generally, no fixed limits exist on the freedom of expression of members of the bench. Judges are expected, however, to preserve their neutrality. To this end, active, professional judges are not permitted to join political parties or to participate in political activities.

F. Dismissal
A judge may be dismissed before retirement only if he or she commits a crime or insults the dignity of the profession.

The reputation of the Polish judiciary is very poor. For example, recent surveys on bribery in the public sector conducted by CBOS (the Public Opinion Research Center in Poland) reveal that a significant percentage of the Polish public believes that the judiciary is among the most corrupt of government departments (the second highest after public administration officials).

Not only does the judiciary lack prestige as a profession and suffer from poor public perception, but noticeable shortages in both human and financial resources continue to persist. Judicial facilities are in substantial need of repair, renovation and new technical equipment. The current circumstances are especially problematic when coupled with the influx of cases resulting from new legislation and economic relations in Poland.

Means of review:
Appeal -the party has the right to appeal from the judgment of the first instance court to the second instance court. Appeal can that party in whose opinion the judgment is not satisfactory partly or completely. The party is obliged to present her objections, however, without being obliged to explain them. The objections of the appeal can be new facts or evidence not rose in the first instance. The court, however, is entitled to omit the new facts or evidence if the party was able to present them in the court of first instance. The court will allow new evidence if it considers, that the first instance judgment may cause damage to the appellor and when new facts or evidences have a considerable importance for the case. The legal opinion and the instructions concerning the further proceedings expresses in the judgment of the second instance court are binding for the first instance court.
Cassation is the third instance, which is not to examine the case, but which controlles the judgments on the demand of the parties. The cassation proceedings is a judicial proceedings to which apply the general rules of the civil process. The party has the right to cassation from the judgment or decision issued by court of second instance and terminating the proceedings in the case. The cassation is not allowed in several cases, detailed in the code.
Complaint - is a regular mean of review. The complaint is to review the decisive acts of the court concerning the proceeding questions. The right to complaint have not only the parties and participants of the proceedings, but also other persons like witnesses, experts and so on.

Before the witness is heard he has to be informed about the right to refuse to testify and about the penal responsibility for making false testimonies.

XIV. GARNISHMENT

1. Read the description and write the name of the court or tribunal.

have a dual responsibility, handling appeals from District courts and enjoying original jurisdiction for the

most serious types of offenses.

has judicial control of public administration.

handle appeals at the level of Regional Courts.

deals with political and criminal infringements on the Constitution or other laws by high-ranking state

officials.

are courts of first instance concentrating on minor, routine offences.

ensures the compliance of laws with the Constitution and of regulations with the law.

is the highest judicial organ in Poland controlling the activity of all the courts.

2. Translate into Polish or English.

Sąd Rejonowy
Sąd Okręgowy
	Appelate Court/ Court of Appeal
	The Supreme Court
Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny
Trybunał Stanu
	The Constitutional Tribunal
Prokurator Generalny
	The Commissioner for Citizens' Rights / Ombudsman / Civil Right Intercessor / Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection
	National Judicial Council / National Judiciary Council
Najwyższa Izba Kontroli

3. Answer the questions below:

Name three groups of courts the Supreme Court supervises the adjudication in.

Name some of the due process guarantees.

Is Polish legal system inquisitorial or adversarial ?

What is the main function of The National Judicial Council ?

Minister of which department serves as the Prosecutor General?

Who is responsible for the protection of civil rights and liberties?

Who nominates judges and who officially appoints them?

For how many years does a lay assessor serve?

Can judges be members of political parties?

What guarantees that judges are not subject to criminal proceedings without the agreement of the disciplinary court?

What is the retirement age of a judge?

---