Polish President Andrzej Duda signed an amendment to the Act prepared in the Ministry of Justice - Code of Civil Procedure introducing IT solutions that will facilitate the work of the judiciary.
“We are consistently moving Polish judiciary from paper era to digital era,” said Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta. Improving the work of the judiciary, improving citizens' access to justice, adapting courts more quickly to the needs of the 21st century through their digitisation – these are the anticipated effects of the law.
E-lycitation
Among the new solutions are e-liquots of real estate, which will allow for the elimination of negotiations between bidders, ensure transparency and security of conduct. Creditors and debtors will benefit from this, as the simplified and remote bidding will increase interest in bidding. The new rules are modelled on the already proven e-lycitation of mobility.
Remote hearings
The Act provides for the adoption as a principle of conducting trials through means of communication at a distance, so the parties to the proceedings, as well as witnesses and experts, will not have to face themselves in court. This will reduce the risk of epidemic, and the transparency of the hearing for the parties will be maintained.
The new law provides that persons who do not have adequate technical equipment will be guaranteed access to them in court. Withdrawal from a remote sitting, i.e. holding a sitting in a traditional form, will only be possible if it is necessary to hear the case at a hearing or public hearing and this will not cause an excessive epidemic threat. Exceptionally, if the nature of the case permits, the court will be able to settle cases at classified sittings.
Transmissions in reprivatisation cases
The hearings of administrative courts in cases of ‘wild reprivatisation’ of Warsaw property are to be broadcast publicly, which will contribute to greater social control over this sensitive area of activity of the courts. The decisions of the Verification Commission behind closed doors and without justification will end.
One judge will know the case
The Act assumes that the epidemic caused by Covid-19 or the state of emergency, as well as one year after the last of them has ceased as rules for the recognition of cases by one judge (also in the second instance), which will eliminate the appeal of the proceedings in the event of the illness of a member of the ruling.
This will also enable more efficient use of judicial staff. However, it will be possible to identify a case in the composition of three Judges by order of the President of the Court if he considers this to be appropriate due to the particular complexity or precedent of the case.
Quick delivery
There are solutions in the Act to serve professional attorneys (advocate, legal advisers, Attorney General) with judicial documents through a special information system (Portal of the General Courts). This will reduce the number of paper correspondence and shorten the time of circulation between the court and the attorneys.
Already today, these writings are posted on the portal, so the new rules will allow for the effective use of proven IT solutions. They will free the courts from printing and sending such correspondence by traditional mail.
The letter will be available in the system immediately after its placement, and the effect of the service will take place on the date of hearing it by the proxy – no later than 14 days after being posted on the portal.
Currently, the period between sending the letter and joining the receipt confirmation return file may take more than a month.