Common Courts Research Articles

LEGAL STATUS OF THE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY IN JUDICAL JUDGMENT

The legal status of the residential community established by the Act of 24 June 1994 raises a series of doubts in both theoretical and practical terms. In literature, the vast majority of positions are in favor of granting legal subjectivity to residential communities. However, opposite views are also emerging. In jurisprudence, the scale of discrepancies is much smaller. Polish courts have been dealing with this issue for years. One of the latest judgments deciding on the legal status of a residential community is the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of March 4, 2019. In this article, the author proves that the residential community referred to art. 6 of the Act of 24 June 1994 is an organizational unit that does not have legal personality, but has legal capacity, i.e. an organizational unit within the meaning of Art. 331 of the Civil Code. The author, in support of his position, presents a series of arguments, including those that have not yet been cited in the literature. The study takes into account the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, administrative courts and common courts

Alcohol consumption epidemic and its complications during the COVID-19 pandemic in Khuzestan Province, Iran; 2020.

After unprecedented demand for ethanol in the pandemic, profiteers used methanol for making illegal alcoholic drink. Final judgements passed by criminal divisions of common courts of law in cases where death or grievous bodily harm was caused by injuries to the facial and cerebral parts of the skull resulting solely from punches to the facial area of the skull. Assessment of individual cases within each group to determine similarities and differences. Comparative analysis of both groups. This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study investigated the effects of methanol poisoning on 400 patients who referred to hospitals affiliated with Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences from March 20 to September 20, 2020. Ninety-eight-point five percent of patients had consumed alcohol for social reasons and only 0.3% had used it as a measure to avoid COVID-19. Eighty-seven percent of the patients used homemade alcohol bought from peddlers. The most common clinical symptom was gastrointestinal disorders (64.8%) and the most common complications were vision problems (12.3%). Ten-point-six percent (42 patients) of the patients died. The most important factors affecting mortality risk were dyspnea, neuropathic problems, abnormal radiological findings, dialysis, abnormal blood pressure, vision problems and dizziness. Informing the public about the risks of using homemade alcoholic beverages is essential if the associated disability and mortality has to be avoided.

The Lost Precedents of Arbitration

Concerns have been expressed that commercial common law is not developing as it should due to disputes being resolved by confidential international commercial arbitration where the majority of awards are not published, and the resultant lack of precedents. This has contributed to questions of the legitimacy of international commercial arbitration and whether the rule of law is being undermined by the non-publication of awards or by the diversion of disputes to arbitration rather than litigation. This article examines the meaning of precedents in this context and the approximate number being ‘lost’ to international commercial arbitration compared to those made in authoritative common law superior courts of record. It suggests that the number of awards of precedential value (APV) is small compared to the volume of commercial judgments of those courts, and that the perceived loss of precedents does not support either publication of awards nor determination of disputes by courts rather than by tribunals. Precedent might instead be enhanced by a wider right of appeal from awards and by publication of the appeal decisions. precedent, precedential value, award publication, arbitration appeals, law development, settlement pressures, litigation vs arbitration, court reporting, Lindley principles, rule of law

Prawo do sądu ustanowionego ustawą a orzekanie przez sędziów sądów powszechnych powołanych na wniosek Krajowej Rady Sądownictwa po 6 marca 2018 r.

Right to a Tribunal Established by Law and the Adjudication by Judges of Common Courts Appointed at the Request of the National Judicial Council after 6 March 2018 The purpose of the article is to discuss the problem of common courts adjudicating in panels with judges appointed at the request of the National Council of the Judiciary after 6 March 2018 from the perspective of the right to a tribunal established by law guaranteed by Article 6(1) of the ECHR. In particular, the research problem of the article is to determine whether adjudication by a common court in panels involving such persons always leads to a violation of Article 6(1) ECHR. The article presents the view that the appointment of common court judges at the request of the reorganised NCJ, possibly with exception to assessors and former assessors appointed to their first judicial positions, constitutes manifest violation of fundamental rules of appointment of judges. This position is supported by the previous ECtHR case law, according to which adjudication by defectively appointed Supreme Court judges led to violation of the right to a tribunal established by law. However, the mere fact that a common court judge has been appointed in manifest violation of domestic law does not mean that the issuance of a ruling by such judge must always lead to a violation of Article 6(1) ECHR. In the process of assessment of whether there has been a violation of the Convention, the ECtHR also takes into account whether the national courts have adequately reviewed and remedied the violations of law that occurred at the stage of judicial appointments. The article presents the view that if a domestic court undertakes a comprehensive assessment of the judicial appointment process and then concludes, relying on the values expressed in the ECHR and in the case law of the ECtHR, that despite participation of unlawfully appointed person in adjudication panel an individual’s right to court was not put at risk, a violation of Article 6 ECHR can be avoided. If, however, the issue of the judge’s appointment is not examined at all or is done so only superficially, there will be a breach of the ECHR.

The Concept of Wrongfulness in the Tort Law – An Analysis of the Polish Jurisprudence

In Polish law, the prevailing opinion is that wrongfulness in tort law occurs when a given behaviour contradicts the norms included in the provisions of law and the principles of social coexistence. The latter notion is understood as non-legal norms of behaviour existing in the society, including mainly moral norms. The aim of the study is to present how the concept of wrongfulness is interpreted in the jurisprudence of Polish common courts and whether the concepts expressed in the Polish doctrine and jurisprudence of the Supreme Court actually ‘translate’ in any way into the jurisprudence of these courts. It is interesting to examine in which factual circumstances wrongfulness is in jurisprudence related to violation of principles of social coexistence. To achieve this aim the article will present analysis of judgments of common courts available on the Internet Portal of the Jurisprudence of Common Courts - the most representative and biggest public available database of Polish jurisprudence. The article focuses on those behaviours which the jurisprudence of common courts usually classifies as contrary to the principles of social coexistence: inflicting deliberate damage on other entities and failing to ensure adequate safety measures that could protect those entities from damage.

Konstytucyjne aspekty udziału referendarza sądowego w postępowaniu karnym

The issue of the place occupied by a court referendary in the Polish judicial system takes on a special character in the light of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, as well as the Law on the System of Common Courts, which determine the scope of tasks that may be entrusted to a court referendary in criminal proceedings. However, as it stands, this institution is ineffective in criminal proceedings. Although it meets the requirement of constitutionality, and the legislator has legally delegated certain powers to court referendaries in criminal proceedings, the fear of violating the constitutional principle of administration of justice only by courts prevents the legislator from further development of this institution.

O potrzebie studiów nad historią prawa – przemyślenia na tle rozważań Tomasza Opalińskiego zawartych w monografii Stan chłopski w Księstwie Warszawskim w świetle akt sądowych

Studies on the history of political systems and law involve a necessity to present historic law institutions with a modern view. This requires from the researcher a good command of legal language and scientific terminology. This article is an attempt to analyze the characteristics of studies dealing with the history of law against the background of Tomasz Opaliński’s thoughts included in the monograph “State of peasantry in the Duchy of Warsaw in the light of court records”. The Author described the situation of peasants in the years 1808–1815 in the light of the judicial documents of courts of peace. This issue is important because the Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw, abolishing „slavery”, introduced the equality of all citizens in terms of the law, which enabled the establishment of common courts. The historical and legal method was applied in this research. The book consists of four chapters, numerous appendices and its contents were organized according to subject-chronology. The Author discussed general issues (including the organization of the judiciary in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and in the Duchy of Warsaw), court records, major social and economic problems of peasants, as well as interstate relations (between peasants, peasants and nobles, peasants and burghers, peasants and Jews, peasants and clergy).

Judicial reporting as a guarantor of the rule of law

Purpose: is to show judicial reporting in relation to the rule of law. The text focuses on the considerations and analysis of the relativity of judicial reporting to the rule of law as a kind of values and subjective rights of civil society. An additional assumption is to indicate the essence of the issue in an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing attention to its importance, multidimensionality, connection and social significance, leaving room for own research. Design/methodology/approach: The research method used in the article is the analysis of scientific studies, supplemented by the author's observations and experience. The research procedure included a review of Polish and foreign literature, an analysis of legal acts and court decisions, a case study and deductive reasoning. The above text evokes, in the author's opinion, a separate understanding and application, more and more commonly, also by journalists, of the concepts of justice, the rule of law and law. Findings: A high level of influence of judicial reporting on the rule of law has been demonstrated. Great demand for this type of message and its values, which should be implemented by the rule of law – judgments of common courts, to be considered the most desirable form of the system. Social development in the face of values as an interdisciplinary concept in terms of direction and field allows you to maintain what is with what should happen in the future. It is important not only what intentions people have, but also what competences they have and according to what values they operate. The conducted analysis shows that the correctness of the message and the understanding of the meaning of the rule of law in the area of law are important and vice versa. An autocratically governed society can be fully governed by law, the courts can issue judgments and the court rapporteurs publicly present them, which does not necessarily mean that we are dealing with the rule of law and the rule of law. Research limitations/implications: Limitations of the obtained results may result from a limited text sample, small text size. Originality/value: The presented research and conclusions provide practical tips not only to people of science, but above all to average citizens, mainly those who are not aware that the world of values surrounds people, but depends on them, what values they pay attention to and to which he remains indifferent. Man has the freedom to choose what suits him best, but is rarely able to use it rationally and in an appropriate form and time. Among values, man does not have to do anything and can do much. The less complex and understandable the forensic message, the closer to the concept of simple principles of human life and action. Every aspect of judicial reporting contributes to strengthening the rule of law in the spirit of a democratic rule of law. Like the world to the world, there were processes and comments, and what resulted from them socially (...).

Status arbitra w postępowaniu arbitrażowym

Arbitration is frequently described as “justice for gentlemen”, which can suggest an absence of procedural issues of such significance to the outcome of the case as in the case of proceedings before common courts. Meanwhile, experience shows that only the types of disputed procedural issues differ slightly in arbitration, while their impact on the outcome is also significant. Of the formal issues, the most important seems to be the status of the arbitrators adjudicating in the case. Given that, in practice, arbitration is of a single instance and has a limited, exhaustively itemized number of premises specified in Article 1206 of the Civil Procedures Code for lodging a complaint to set aside an arbitral award, strict adherence by arbitrators to the principles of impartiality and independence is of fundamental importance. A possible breach of these principles can undermine the confidence of the parties not only in the arbitral panel in a specific case, but also in arbitration in general. Consequently, a possible attempt to remove an arbitrator, as a rule, constituting the manifestation of efforts to eliminate errors made while the arbitral panel was being constituted, is considered only a partial remedium. Therefore, the objective of the study is to analyse the key formal expectations of arbitrators, as well as consider selected issues related to the institution of the removal of an arbitrator - understood as a guarantee of his impartiality and independence. The intention of this analysis is to help define the status of an arbitrator in arbitration proceedings.

ARBITRATION JUDICIARY – NEW QUALITY OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Arbitration judiciary, often referred to as arbitration, is commonly presented in the literature as one of the alternative methods of dispute resolution. The objections to the irregularities of the judicial state system and legitimate expectations in terms of reducing the time and costs of the proceedings guarantee the parties real access to court and protection of their rights by drawing up an arbitration clause. As part of the mutual relations of arbitration with respect to alternative dispute resolution methods, it should be emphasized that arbitration is a real alternative to the state justice administered by the common courts. It is also worth pointing to the possibilities and the need for disputes resolution by arbitration constituting as an important addition to the course of justice made by courts. The consistent intention to resolve the conflict reflected in the arbitration agreement and the exceptional opportunities for the parties to participate in the arbitration proceedings constitute a new content of the culture and legal awareness of citizens and the creation of modern mutual relations between the parties of broadly understood civil law relations. An arbitration clause, the implementation of arbitration proceedings and the resolution of a dispute within the framework of arbitration may and should therefore constitute a new quality in the administration of justice.

SHAPING THE SYSTEM OF JUDICIAL CONTROL OF DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS IN SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS

Initially, disciplinary liability was not subject to judicial control. The shaping of the judicial control of disciplinary decisions was a long-standing process which was finally established with the entry into force of the constitutional principle right of access to court. A systemic analysis of the provisions in question indicates that the system and functioning of this institution are not based on clear and rational assumptions that meet the postulated criteria of a satisfactory (decent) regulation. Existing provisions often regulate institutional, material and procedural aspects of this control in a different way. This approach to the control system puts the litigant parties (especially the accused) in unjustifiably different procedural situations resulting from different rules of procedure in force in common courts of law and administrative courts.

CONVERSION” OF A CUSTOMS OFFICER’S SERVICE RELATIONSHIP INTO AN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

The selection method of existing employees or officers has been used since the beginning of the Third Polish Republic during the transformation of various public institutions, which consists of making discretionary decisions about whose employment will be continued, as well as under what new conditions it will be carried out. Using the framework for termination of employment for this purpose in subsequent acts, missing in them precise criteria for qualifying persons and the lack of regulations as to the manner of judicial protection are designed to reduce the number of people who would make attempts to contest their decisions. In 2016 on the occasion of the reform of the fiscal apparatus, this method was additionally extended to include the possibility of unilateral and selectively transforming the service relationships of customs officers into employment relationships, or vice versa - fiscal officials to officers. This option was implemented in practice in 2017. This represents a serious threat to the freedom to choose and pursue a profession which must either be restrained by declaring this type of regulation unconstitutional, or by making it unprofitable through court judgments restoring prior employment relationships. The recent case law of common courts and the Supreme Court favours it.

ირიბი ჩვენების მნიშვნელობა საგამოძიებო ორგანოებისათვის და მისი მტკიცებულებითი ძალა სასამართლოში

The presented article “The importance of Hearsay for investigative bodies and its evidential power in court” discusses Hearsay as a secondary (produced) evidence and the criterion of its admissibility in criminal proceedings. The main danger of using hearsay as evidence is the possibility of substantial distortion and alteration when it is mediated by different velocity ratios. The author focuses on the legal basis of Hearsay. Testimonies are classified and their forms, mechanisms of production and standards are discussed in a comparative-legal context. The article includes an overview and analysis of the Georgian model of Hearsay. There is discussed Georgian experience in the legal context from the dissemination of Hearsay to the present day, the peculiarities and main features of the Georgian model are evaluated. The content, technical, and legal aspects of the work are also discussed. There are discussed problems that exist in terms of legal and legislative techniques and possible ways to solve them. The purpose of this article is to analyze common Hearsay models, review and generalize these legal aspects, develop better and more substantively appropriate methods, and research legal forms of Hearsay in order to identify the main mechanisms that can be received and adapted in Georgian reality. The research is mainly based on comparative-legal methodology, analytical, historical, descriptive, hermeneutic and other scientific methods. Based on the methodological research, the existing scientific literature, legal acts and case law will be studied in the practical field. The case law of the Georgian Common and Constitutional Court, the European Court of Justice, and numerous significant US Supreme Courts should be developed, as this may be the most effective strategy to better regulate and resolve problems in Georgia. The present article includes a historical overview of indirect testimony highlighting the first recognition of the need for indirect testimony in England and its recognition as admissible evidence. The evolution of this component of law, its need and role in the Georgian criminal justice system are also assessed. The decisions of the Constitutional Court of 22 January 2015 and 25 December 2020, which defined the constitutionality of indirect Chen as evidence-based norms of admissibility, play an important role. The practice of the German Federal Constitutional Court, where there are many years of practice on the use of indirect chen and its significance, should also be considered. In this article, the author reviews the approach of the common courts regarding the use of indirect testimony in Georgia, with a focus on the legislation of European countries and the assessment of existing practices. The European Court of Human Rights has a relatively flexible approach to the issue, setting a certain standard in one of the cases mentioned in the article. Despite the different approaches, it is a fact that most states try to make the institution of indirect censorship more flexible and sophisticated so that the core values necessary in the administration of criminal justice are not jeopardized, the interests of the parties are protected and the situation is objectively assessed. In conclusion, the article summarizes the main challenges and problems related to indirect testimony in criminal law. We are talking about the importance of implementing the decision made by the Constitutional Court in practice. Gathering the author's position on the different approaches in different countries, the author develops an opinion on the admissibility of indirect testimony as an exception. The aim of the paper is to analyze the common models of indirect testimony, to review and generalize these legal aspects, to develop better and more substantively adequate methods, to study the legal forms of indirect testimony in order to identify the main mechanisms that can be received and adapted in Georgian reality.

Wykładnia pojęcia „dobrej wiary” w orzecznictwie w kontekście dokonywanych w okresie PRL naruszeń prawa własności

The article aims to asses the jurisprudence of the first decades of the 21st century regarding the good faith of stateowned enterprises that began, without a legal title, to use private land in the communist period, placing on them the infrastructure used to transmit electric energy. Courts interpreting general clauses referring to concepts and systems of values lying outside the legal system gain the ability to influence the decision of the case based on their own moral judgments. Therefore, the case where Polish courts operating in a state that respects the principle of equal property protection regardless if the entitled entity had the opportunity to assess the conduct of entities representing the state operating on the basis of a completely different system of values, should be considered particularly interesting. It is typical for totalitarian and authoritarian regimes to formally grant broad protection to individual rights and, at the same time ignore their existence in the activities of the state. It can be seen in the practice of carrying out some infrastructure investments in the communist period. Electricity networks were often built on private land. At that time, there were regulations allowing to obtain a legal title to use the land, both in private law (contract) and of an administrative (expropriation) nature. The state and state-owned enterprises, however, mostly did not use them, focusing on planning investments to obtain permits related to technical issues. The reasons for this behavior can be seen primarily in the basic assumptions of the socialist system. The described practice testified to the real attitude of the state to private property as a type of property that was ultimately to be ousted in the socialist system. The role of economic plans in the Polish People’s Republic was also significant. State bodies and state-owned enterprises primarily aimed at executing plans, regardless of whether or not they violated the individual’s interests in this way. After 1989, the legal status of many power grids, overhead lines, and other devices was therefore not regulated. State-owned enterprises, and the companies resulting from their transformation, used many properties without a legal title. Changes in the legal awareness of society and the grow-ing understanding of economic mechanisms based on the principles of responsibility for one’s own actions and protection of subjective rights, led to many court disputes between owners and entrepreneurs. The most common claims addressed to transmission companies were remunerations for the use of land without legal title and actio negatoria. The case law reacted to the increase in the number of disputes by creating a concept of usucaption of land easement for the benefit of the transmission entrepreneur. Its legitimacy from the beginning raised fundamental doubts in the legal doctrine, but it gained the full support of the courts. Many statements of the Supreme Court assessed the correctness of the state-owned enterprises’ conduct. The relatively numerous statements approving the omission of obtaining a legal title to seize someone else’s real estate in the investment preparation process ought to be considered inter-esting and surprising. They significantly influenced the practice of common courts, causing many claims of property owners against entrepreneurs to be dismissed. Moreover, by expressly praising unlawful interference with the right to property, carried out during the Polish Peopleʼs Republic, they probably also deepened the sense of harm and injustice — caused mainly by a surprising in-terpretation that allowed for the acquisition by prescription of a right unknown to the Act — and above all the belief that courts treated trade participants unequally and that courts granted significant privileging to the state and entities representing its interests.

Postępowanie w przedmiocie wytknięcia właściwemu sądowi oczywistej obrazy przepisów. Glosa do postanowienia Sądu Najwyższego z dnia 28 sierpnia 2019 r. (II KO 56/19, OSNKW 2019, nr 10, poz. 58)

In the commented judgement, the Supreme Court stated that an appeal against a decision reproaching a competent court for flagrant violation of the law while hearing a criminal case (Article 40 § 2a and 2b of the Law on the common court system) is heard by the Supreme Court in the Criminal Chamber in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure on appeals. Commencement of the procedure laid down in Article 40 § 1 of the Law on the Common Court System is subject to the time limit set on the date of rendering a decision on an appeal, and its termination should take place immediately after the receipt of explanations or the expiry of the deadline for submitting them, in either case by issuing a decision on reproaching for a violation. The appellate court should issue its decision both when it finds the violation took place and when it resigns to do so. This commentary approves such an attitude, developing arguments to support it. On the other hand, the opposite view was criticized, based on the claim that initiation of the procedure for reproach for violation is also admissible after the final ruling has been issued. Having analysed the issue of reproach for violation of the law from the systemic point of view, the author postulates to unify Article 97 § 1 of the Act on the Supreme Court with Article 40 § 2a of the Law on the Common Court System and to introduce an appeal against a ruling of the Supreme Court heard within so called horizontal instance.

Complaints of land and mortgage register court judgments

The article analyses the ways of appealing against judgments issued by the land and mortgage register court. The lodging of appeals always extends the proceedings aimed at obtaining a legally binding entry in the land and mortgage register. From the perspective of real estate participants, it is also necessary to mention that the elimination of an entry in the register may also take place by bringing an action regarding the property right for which the land and mortgage register is kept. A common court judgement may also have the effect of making an entry in the land and mortgage register with a content different than that resulting from the examination of the application for entry, and then the means of appealing against it, by the land and mortgage register court.

Public exposure of anti-abortion banners in the context of the limits of freedom of expression

In the article, the author analyzes, from the perspective of the limits of the freedom of speech, one of the controversial forms of expression on the permissibility of abortion. This form of expression consists of presentation in public spaces, large-format photographs containing images of bloody dead human fetuses. Banners containing these types of photographs are presented without any restrictions, which means that anyone, including children, can view them. For this text, common court judgements in which the courts held that this form of expression is not protected by freedom of speech were collected and analyzed. The analysis of the judgments of common courts was complemented by reference to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

‘Children in Criminal Procedure : Friendly Law’: Analysis of the Government Draft Amendments to Some of the Legal Acts in Poland

The considerations undertaken in the scientific article constitute an analysis and evaluation of the solutions included in the government's legislative proposal aimed to change the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Family and Guardianship Code, and the Law on the System of Common Courts with regard to the position of minor victims. The legislative initiative is a significant change that aims to improve the protection of children participating in criminal procedures. This legal act’s draft indicates the provision of a special position to children in the criminal procedure. If children happen to be the aggrieved parties in criminal procedures, they deserve to be met by the court and participants with exceptional awareness and sensitivity. I am of the opinion that the criminal procedure must be structured in such a way that the participating children feel safe. The judiciary should aim to be child-friendly. It is extremely important that children feel understood as well as they understand the new legal reality in which they find themselves. In this analysis, I have referred to the regulations on the protection of children's rights under the international law and the law of the European Union. In this study, I have laid emphasis on the point that the proposed legislative solutions should meet the assumptions of the European directives issued by the European Union institutions as well as the Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on child-friendly justice, the main act on the protection of children's rights issued by the Council of Europe.

Legal Effects of Unenforceability or Invalidity of an Agreement for a Denominated in or Indexed to a Foreign Currency Mortgage Loan in The Light of Judicial Decisions

An introduction of mortgage currency loans to the banks offers, particularly the indexed to a foreign currency and denominated in a foreign currency loans, based on agreements containing abusive clauses which lead, in the consumer/borrower's individual relations, to the violation of his legal and economic interest and on the financial system level to the creation the risk of its instability (systemic risk). In many European countries, in Hungary for instance, the problem was solved ex post on the statutory level by the legislator’s interference. In others, for example in Romania, such statutory solutions were contested by the constitutional courts. In the remaining ones, such as Poland, Spain or Austria, the problem was left to be solved within the individual cases by the civil or arbitration courts. The latter solution requires however the development of lines of jurisprudence solving the contentious legal issues resulting from the complicated legal relations that occurred between the banks and the consumers/borrowers. Given the above, the author undertook to analyse the judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice, Polish common courts and the Supreme Court in order to indicate these nodal issues which often evoke the discrepancies in jurisprudence, as well as to present the possible solutions. The importance of the issue is crucial not only to the economic condition of the households and financial results of particular banks, but also to the stability of the whole financial sector. The implementation of the research goal adopted in this article requires the application of legal research methods, such as in particular the general theoretical method and the formal-dogmatic method.

The President of Poland’s immunity in criminal matters

The issue analysed by the author is that of the institution of Presidential immunity pertaining to the President of the Republic of Poland, and operating in such a way that a sitting President cannot be held criminally liable before a common court for acts tantamount to offences. Inclining towards the essence of this solution and its consequences when it comes to respect for constitutional principles of legalism and equality before the law, the author at the same time seeks to assess the completeness of the provisions in effect in Poland, in so doing identifying a lack of clear directives as to how a former President (i.e. one who has left office) is to be held criminally liable. The conclusion reached by the author can be said to boil down to a recognition that the liability of a former President before Poland’s Tribunal of State for offences or crimes committed is of an accessory nature where common courts are concerned, with the condition underpinning recognition of the Tribunal’s primacy in matters of jurisdiction being the National Assembly’s adoption of a Resolution holding a former President liable constitutionally, and potentially at the same time initiating action in respect of given offences. Any lack of such a National Assembly Resolution must give rise to a particular kind of reactivation – in respect of the former President – of jurisdiction in the dispensing of justice by common courts, given the fact that one of the negative procedural premises has ceased to be non-applicable. Thus, unlike in the case of a President still holding office, the cognition of the Tribunal of State in relation to a former President is neither exclusive nor automatic. Such observations have also stimulated work by the author to develop de lege ferenda postulates regarding the subject matter, as set against the wider background of Poland’s political and constitutional system.