Faster proceedings before the court and online hearings, which can also be attended by smartphones, radical restrictions on bureaucracy and function positions, even distribution of work between judges – this is what Polish courts are supposed to look like after the Ministry of Justice introduced a fundamental reform – simplification of the judicial system. Thanks to it, Poles will be able to quickly settle important court cases without unnecessary formalities and close to home, even at court points located in their own municipality.
No more bureaucratic absurdities
- What? third The judge in Poland is today the president, chairman of the department or performing other bureaucratic functions. Many citizens are separated from the nearest court above one hundred Miles. We're going to make changes to get judges to judge instead of managing, and citizens to get access to court even on their own phone. These are fundamental changes that will completely change the Polish judiciary," said Zbigniew Ziobro.
As a result of the reform with third one thousand function judges above two one thousand He'll come back from behind the executive desks for full judgment. Today there is a situation that in small courts with 5 Judges 4 takes function positions and rulings on a part-time basis. There were even courts where all judges were functional.
- We end the bureaucratic absurdities in the judiciary. The judge must perform the duties to which he was appointed, i.e. to handle cases, rather than bureaucratic and administrative activities," said Deputy Minister Katarzyna Frydrych.
Deputy Minister Marcin Warchoł assured that the citizen's path to court would be shorter. “In place of the bureaucratic courts we will introduce judicial points that will appear where there are no courts. The points will be equipped with a modern electronic system for conducting remote trials – he announced.
Courts Closer to People
Direction to full judgment above two one thousand the judges will be accompanied by a uniform burden on all duties. Today, judges are assigned even after 1,300 cases per year, while the judges of appeal courts – on average little above 300. He goes to regional courts every year about 14,000,000 cases and to appeal courts above 100 times less.
The reform assumes the establishment of an extensive, bureaucratic division into appeal, district and district courts – a simple and functional system of regional and district courts to be created in the law 350 localities throughout Poland. None of the courts will be liquidated, but their structure will change, which will now be simple, transparent and citizen-friendly.
The citizens' path to the courts will be shortened. Important matters for each other will be able to get closer to home: those that have so far directed to district courts in large towns will be settled in former district courts, so in every district.
Municipal Court Points
The fundamental issue will be the creation of judicial points in municipalities – also where there was no court at all. These points, equipped with professional Internet communication equipment, will allow you to participate in remote trials, there you will also be able to obtain information about the hearing dates and the state of the case.
Full computerisation of the judiciary will enable citizens and entrepreneurs to access justice even without leaving home. Many things can be handled in the simplest and most convenient way – using the smartphone. In this way it will be possible to send a letter to the court or to receive it, to find out about the date of the trial, and to take part in a remote trial.
Equalisation of the status of judges
The reform will introduce the principle of equality of the judiciary profession and create equal opportunities for all to work. The salary of private judges will be increased. There will be no gross disparity in earnings, which now express that the difference in the pay of judges of equal stature can reach more than 4,000 PLN.
Each judge will become a judge of the same status, regardless of the court in which he or she decides, and entitled to judge in the courts of both instances. The new judges will be appointed once per service and the one-time nomination procedure will only apply to the position of a judge of the general court.
This will strengthen judicial independence, strengthening independence from its own environment, the National Judicial Council or politicians. The transfer of a judge to a higher court will be based solely on the criterion of professional experience.
Guarantees to judicial staff
For courts to be able to operate efficiently, you need to take care of more than 30,000 General Court staff. None will be released. It is guaranteed to work in the former township and will retain the current basic salary. The potential of civil servants will be better exploited in courts.
The reform assumes the possibility of entrusting them, for example, with the role of coordinator for mediation and international cooperation and human rights issues, which have been reserved for judges so far. The rank of staff will also be raised by giving them the status of a public officer.
People are the biggest capital, so they must be given the best working conditions and should be able to fully exploit their professional potential.