Jakob Maziarz PhD - The social factor in the history of the Polish judiciary: jury courts, magistrates, jurors since the unification of the judiciary (until 1929)

Abstract

The issue of the participation of the social factor in the administration of justice has definitely experienced a renaissance in recent years. Only a dozen or so years ago it seemed that the only acceptable form of citizens' participation in the judiciary was lay judges, now the possibility of restoring the institution of justices of the peace is seriously considered. In the history of the judiciary in Poland, in different periods and in different areas, basically all forms of public participation in the administration of justice were known; in addition to those mentioned above, also courts of assizes and direct election of judges by the citizens. The article concerns the participation of the social factor in the judiciary until its unification on the basis of the Act – Law on the System of Common Courts of 1928, but focuses more on the reasons for the introduction of the social factor as such and its various varieties. As a side note, the author leaves detailed factual findings regarding the nature of non-professional courts in particular epochs (as these have recently been the subject of at least several studies).

Full text in Polish – https://krs.pl/pl/kwartalnik-consilium-iuridicum/opublikowane-numery/2023/1877-1-2023.html

Bartłomiej Migda - The social factor in the history of the Polish judiciary: jury courts, magistrates, jurors since the unification of the judiciary (since 1929)

Abstract

The subject of the study is the presentation of the occurrence of the social factor in the administration of justice in the law of the Second Republic after the unification of the judiciary and after World War II. The forms of this participation and knotty issues related to it are discussed. The issues are presented in three levels. The first normative – takes a closer look at the legal solutions related to the participation of the civic factor in the administration of justice. The second dogmatic – brings closer, to the necessary extent, the views of science and projects. The third practical – brings closer the functioning (or lack of) normative solutions. The indicated dimensions interpenetrate each other, and therefore their strict separation is not possible.

Full text in Polish – https://krs.pl/pl/kwartalnik-consilium-iuridicum/opublikowane-numery/2023/1877-1-2023.html

Prof. Piotr Juchacz - Development of the European movement of associations of social judges

Abstract

The article starts with analysing citizen participation in the administration of justice as a fundamental principle of a democratic rule of law and a fundamental political right of citizens. Afterwards, the four phases of the development of associations of lay judges in Europe (1920–2022) are presented, followed by the history of the establishment and development of the European Network of Associations of Lay Judges (ENALJ) from 2012–2022, as well as the primary goals and activities undertaken by the association. The next part of the article presents two selected postulates formulated by the community of lay judges in Europe: the participation of one representative of lay judges in national judicial councils and the reform of the training system for lay judges. Each of the postulates is referred to the context of the Polish judiciary. In conclusion, the cooperation of European associations of lay judges is analysed in the context of the challenges, threats, but also expectations facing it.

Full text in Polish – https://krs.pl/pl/kwartalnik-consilium-iuridicum/opublikowane-numery/2023/1877-1-2023.html

Prof. Dariusz Dudek - Magistrates in presidential bill

Abstract

The subject of the study is the draft Act on the Courts of the Peace introduced by the President of the Republic of Poland on November 4, 2021, which is currently (along with other drafts on the same subject) the subject of legislative works in the Sejm. At the beginning, the author discusses the concept presented by the Ministry of Justice, based on the premise of the need for a prior amendment to the Constitution as a condition for the legal appointment of courts (judges) of the peace; the author presents a different view. The analysis of the presidential project is made through the prism of not only the regulation, but also its justification, showing the ratio legis of establishing the judiciary of the peace and the essence of the proposed solution, based on the fulfillment of binding constitutional standards, regarding the judiciary. It characterizes in more detail the model of universal elections and subsequent appointment of justices of the peace (by the President at the request of the National Council of the Judiciary) and the essential features of the status of these judges, including their rights and duties, or the cognition area (votum). In addition, it shows the financial effects of the proposed regulation for the state budget expected by the applicant and the assumed positive social effects. In conclusion, recalling the basic assumptions of the President's project, the author estimates that if the concept of establishing courts and appointing justices of the peace has a chance of success in the legislative procedure in the parliament, then it may then bring a new social value to the functioning of the Polish judiciary in constitutional practice.

Full text in Polish – https://krs.pl/pl/kwartalnik-consilium-iuridicum/opublikowane-numery/2023/1877-1-2023.html

prof. Andrzej Bałandynowicz - Magistrates in presidential bill – an ontological-gnoseological thinking perspective using the method of idealization

Abstract

The subject of the study is the presidential draft Act on the Courts of the Peace, currently undergoing legislative work in the Sejm. The author supports the presidential draft, arguing that it is evidence of the realization of the ideal of justice on the subsoil of naturalistic normative essentialism and constitutes for the judicial system the principle of equipotentiality (equality) and is a model of humanistic-interpretive thinking.

Full text in Polish – https://krs.pl/pl/kwartalnik-consilium-iuridicum/opublikowane-numery/2023/1877-1-2023.html