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The Supreme Court ( pl, Sąd Najwyższy) is the highest court in the
Republic of Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. It is located in the
Krasiński Square,
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
.
![Poland-00925 - National Library (31103382871)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Poland-00925_-_National_Library_%2831103382871%29.jpg)
One of the chambers of the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Chamber, was suspended by a judgment of the
CJEU
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (french: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg ...
. Despite the judgment, the chamber continues to operate.
The legal basis for the competence and activities of the Supreme Court is the
Polish Constitution
The current Constitution of Poland was founded on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), it replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, the last amended version of ...
, the Act on the Supreme Court and the
Presidential Decree on the organisation of the Supreme Court.
History
The Supreme Court followed on from the Court of Cassation of the
Principality of Warsaw. It began its work in 1917 during the First World War as the Royal Imperial Supreme Court (Polish: Królewsko-Cesarski Sąd Najwyższy).
Pomian-Srzednicki was appointed the first president of the court. After Poland gained full
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in 1918, the Supreme Court was reformed by decree of 8 February 1919 and many judges who were considered to be loyal to the emperor were dismissed.
After the
German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...
, the Supreme Court ceased its work. After the Second World War, the Supreme Court was reinstated with new judges who were now in line with the
Soviet leadership
The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a Federalism, federal One-party state, single-party Soviet republic (system of government), soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist P ...
. Its powers were reorganised by laws adopted in 1962 and 1984. At the turn of 1989 the Supreme Court was dissolved and re-established, but for the most part with the old judges from the communist era.
In 2002 a new legal basis for the organisation of the Supreme Court was created, replacing the old one of 1984.
2017–2018 Constitutional Crisis
In 2017 the Polish government passed a law which would have forced all Supreme Court judges into mandatory retirement apart from those granted an extension by the
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
. The bill was passed in the
Polish Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the ...
and the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
however following mass protests against the bill it was ultimately vetoed by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Andrzej Duda
Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the ...
on 24 June 2017. A revised bill reduced mandatory retirement age of judges from 70 to 65. The bill was later signed by President Duda and came into force in July 2018. The law effectively retires 40% of the Supreme Court bench including the First President of the Supreme Court,
Malgorzata Gersdorf.
Polish opposition parties, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
, the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, the Polish Supreme Court, and the National Council of the Judiciary have claimed the law is unconstitutional because it violates the principles of the independence of the judiciary. In August 2018 the Supreme Court sent questions to the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
regarding the reforms. Under
Union law
European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its val ...
the court can prevent the
State law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation of which it is a part. It is used when the constituent components of a federation are themselves called states. Federations made up of provinces, cant ...
from coming into force if it undermines the
treaties of the European Union
The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the European Union (EU) member states which sets out the EU's constitutional basis. They establish the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedures a ...
regarding judicial independence.
On 17 December 2018, President Duda signed a law that will reinstate the judges who had been forced out of their jobs.
On 8 April 2020 the EU Court of Justice ruled in a court case ("Commission v Poland") that the state of Poland "had failed to fulfil its obligations under
EU law
European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its val ...
". As a result, the Court granted "the Commission’s application for interim measures" which will likely be realised with
monetary fines.
CJEU suspension of the Disciplinary Chamber
On 12 October 2020, Adam Tomczyński a friend of Polish Minister of Justice, from that not recognized chamber have waived the immunity of Beata Morawiec (
:pl:Beata Morawiec), judge of the District Court in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. Moments after that the
European Association of Judges
The International Association of Judges (IAJ) is a professional, non-political, international organization of national associations of judges. It was founded in Salzburg in 1953 and has its headquarters in Rome.
The IAJ promotes the Rule of Law ...
expresses its unbreakable solidarity to Judge Beata Morawiec and to all independent Polish judges and ones again stated that "''The Disciplinary Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court is not a court and cannot continue to act as one''" and urges the European Commission to take all necessary measures to urgently reestablish the EU legal order in Poland.
Function
The Supreme Court supervises the adjudication in:
* General courts: these are district, circuit, and appeal courts. They adjudicate in the areas of civil, criminal, family and labour law.
* Military courts: these are circuit and garrison courts. They deal with matters relating to crimes committed by soldiers in active service, civilian employees in military units, and prisoners of war.
The Supreme Court is the court of last resort of appeal against judgements in the lower courts (except for administrative courts). It also passes resolutions to clarify specific legal provisions and resolve disputable questions in specific cases. These however are not (at least technically) legally binding.
Chambers
The Supreme Court has chambers for civil matters, criminal matters, labour and social security matters, exceptional supervision and public matters, and disciplinary matters.
Appointment of judges
The
President of Poland
The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...
appoints Supreme Court judges for an indefinite period. This is done upon a motion of the
National Council of the Judiciary
In the European continental judicial tradition, the national councils of the judiciary are institutions that ensure the self-management of the judiciary and the effective delivery of justice, which are autonomous or independent of the executive a ...
. The
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
also selects the First President of the court from candidates presented by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court. The First President holds office for a six-year term. The First President may be dismissed by the
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
upon a motion by the President if found convicted of a crime.
In July 2018 a new law came into force which lowers the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 65. The introduction of this law is contested and the constitutionality of the law is being assessed. Critics have argued the law is aimed at removing non-pliant judges and installing appointees desired by the current government, led by the
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński.
It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct su ...
party.
There are 120 posts for judges.
List of First Presidents of the Supreme Court
Location
From 1917 to 1939, the Supreme Court met in the
Krasiński Palace
The Krasiński Palace ( pl, Pałac Krasińskich), also known as the Palace of the Commonwealth, is a reconstructed Baroque palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Krasiński Square (''Plac Krasińskich''). Initially erected between 1677 and 1683 for the po ...
, which had already housed the Court of Cassation of the
Principality of Warsaw before 1812. From 1945 to 1950 the Supreme Court met in
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
due to the
destruction of Warsaw
The destruction of Warsaw was Nazi Germany's substantially effected razing of the city in late 1944, after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising of the Polish resistance. The uprising infuriated German leaders, who decided to destroy the city as retaliation. ...
in the Second World War. From 1950 to 1999 it met in the building now used by the Warsaw Higher Regional Court. Since 1999, the Supreme Court has had its seat on
Krasiński Square, diagonally opposite the Krasiński Palace, which is known for its 86 Latin inscriptions.
Budget
The budget of the Supreme Court is set in the annual budget of Poland. In 2019, expenditure amounted to approximately PLN 160 million and revenue to PLN 0.26 million.
See also
*
Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland
The Constitutional Tribunal ( pl, Trybunał Konstytucyjny) is the constitutional court of the Republic of Poland, a judicial body established to resolve disputes on the constitutionality of the activities of state institutions; its main task i ...
Literature
* L. Garlicki, Z. Resich, M. Rybicki, S. Włodyka: ''Sąd Najwyższy w PRL.'' 1983.
* M. Pietrzak: ''Sąd Najwyższy w II Rzeczypospolitej.'' Czasopismo Prawno-Historyczne, 1981.
* A. Rzepliński: ''Sądownictwo w PRL.'' Polonia Book, London 1990.
* S. Włodyka: ''Ustrój organów ochrony prawnej'', Warsaw 1975.
Notes
References
External links
Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland
{{Authority control
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
Judiciary of Poland
1917 establishments in Poland
Courts and tribunals established in 1917