Functioning of the administrative judiciary in Poland facing the problems of the contemporary society – selected problems

Abstract

The notion of the judicial control of administration exercised by specially designated authorities has been present in Poland for a long time. The first proposals in this area appeared as early as 1807, and were implemented on the basis of the French practice. In the years 1922–1939 there existed the Supreme Administrative Court, which determined the lawfulness of decisions and orders by public administration bodies in cases of breaches of particular rights or the imposion of duties without any legal grounds. It functioned as a court of appeal. After 1944 the administrative judicial system was dissolved. The solutions based on the three principal characteristics of administrative judicial system, i.e. the separation from common courts, the existence of a system of administrative courts, and the independence of their judges, were re-established in 1980. Also, a separate judicial authority was restored, referred to as the Chief Administrative Court, operating as a court of appeal with general material jurisdiction covering administrative decisions and cases of the inaction of administrative authorities despite their duty to issue such decisions. The scope of cognition of the Chief Administrative Court was gradually extending, and in 2004 a two-level model of the administrative judicial system was established, operating on an appeal basis. This model sparks off many controversies as to its practical application. The lengthiness of its proceedings is another problem of the Polish administrative judicial system.