Access to the Highest Administrative Courts: between the Right of an Individual to Have a Case Heard and the Right of a Court to Hear Selected Cases

Hearing a dispute by a court in a reasonable time is one of the crucial conditions for the existence of an effective judicial system as imposed by the European law and national legal orders. That requirement is contrary to the expectations of individuals to question the judgments of lower courts before the courts of the highest instance. The purpose of this article is to explore the question of values that should be taken into consideration by legislatures in a process of determining the access of administrative cases to the highest courts. The analysis is based on the example of Austrian and Polish legal systems. In both countries, there is a separate two-instance administrative judiciary. However, the conditions of the access to the Supreme Administrative Courts differ. In Poland, that access is unlimited, considering the constitutional principle of two-instance court proceedings. In Austria, the right in question is limited to cases deemed significant for broader interest, i.e. not only the one of the parties to the proceeding. An analysis of the normative consequences of each solution leads to the conclusion that procedural limitations concerning the access to the highest courts foster their role in preserving the uniformity of the case law and ensuring a high standard of its interpretation. A system with no limitations does not guarantee the determination of a concrete dispute in a reasonable time and thus cannot be considered effective

FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATION OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS OF ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS

Celem opracowania jest analiza odwołań sądów administracyjnych do rezultatów wykładni funkcjonalnej w podejmowaniu rozstrzygnięć (badania obejmują okres od początku 2009 r. do połowy 2011 r.). Reguły funkcjonalne powinny odgrywać istotne znaczenie w wykładni prawa administracyjnego ze względu na funkcje jego norm, wyposażających organy administracji publicznej w kompetencje władcze. Współcześnie dominującym nurtem w orzecznictwie sądowym jest odwoływanie się do językowych rezultatów wykładni, co wiąże się z kognicją sądów administracyjnych. Dopiero stopniowo uznanie zyskuje stanowisko o konieczności każdorazowego uwzględniania w procesie interpretacji rezultatu systemowych oraz funkcjonalnych dyrektyw wykładni, w tym dyrektyw funkcjonalnych. Natomiast odmienny wniosek wypływa z analizy uchwał podjętych przez Naczelny Sąd Administracjny w analizowanym okresie. Prezentując poszerzoną argumentację natury prawnej, sąd ten co do zasady uwzględniał również rezultaty wykładni pozajęzykowej. Uwzględnianie reguł funkcjonalnych w orzecznictwie sądowym powinno stanowić nieodłączny element każdego rozumowania nastawionego na sformułowanie zwrotu stosunkowego o zgodności bądź niezgodności z prawem kontrolowanego aktu lub innej czynności z zakresu administracji publicznej.The paper deals with the analysis of functional interpretation of judicial decisions of administrative courts made from 2009 to the middle of 2011. The function of the norms of administrative law that equip organs of public administration with competence and authority make functional rules of material importance in the construction of administrative law. Currently, the main approach adopted by judges in making judicial decisions is to base them on linguistic interpretation only. Such an approach is a consequence of the existing scope of cognition of Polish administrative courts. However, an opinion that a systematic and functional interpretation should be applied in each interpretation process is gradually gaining recognition. A different conclusion comes from the analysis of the resolutions passed by the Supreme Administrative Court, which form extensive legal argumentation and interpretation of certain legal issues, frequently taking into account the non-linguistic interpretation as well. Functional rules should be an inseparable element of reasoning in each judicial process leading to a judicial decision or a formulation of a statement of the legality of a public administrative act

Examination of the matter by the administrative court without undue delay

Jednym z elementów prawa do sądu jest jego realizacja w rozsądnym terminie. Przedmiotem opracowania jest analiza tego warunku w działalności orzeczniczej polskich sądów administracyjnych. Działalność ta została poddana analizie zarówno z punktu widzenia dostępnych materiałów statystycznych, z których wynika stopniowo rosnący wpływ skarg i skarg kasacyjnych, jak i regulacji ustawy – Prawo o postępowaniu przed sądami administracyjnymi. W pracy sformułowana została umiarkowanie pozytywna ocena sprawności postępowania sądowoadministracyjnego. O ile przed wojewódzkimi sądami administracyjnymi postępowanie toczy się stosunkowo szybko, o tyle aktualnie wysiłki powinny zostać skupione na zapewnieniu zbliżonego poziomu szybkości działania NSA.One of the elements of the right to a court is the exercise of this right within a reasonable time. The aim of the study is the analysis of this condition in the judicial activity of Polish administrative courts. This activity has been analysed both from the point of view of available statistics which show a gradually increasing influence of complaints and cassation appeals and the regulations of the Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts. A moderately positive assessment of the efficiency of administrative litigation has been formulated. It has been found that although proceedings before regional administrative courts are conducted relatively quickly, efforts should now be focused on ensuring a similar level of turn-over in proceeding before the Supreme Administrative Court

Participation in Public Religious Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Between Various Limitations and Their Proportionality

The right to manifest religion or belief in community with others is one of the essential components of religious freedom. However, it has been significantly curtailed in many countries owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. This article identifies the scope of the introduced restrictions, their proportionality, and their impact on the functioning of religious communities. Section 1 sets out three different approaches to participation in public religious practices in selected countries with severe (Germany), moderate (Poland), and liberal (Belarus) restrictions. In section 2, an international perspective on access to religious buildings in times of emergency is presented. The conclusions of this research are juxtaposed in section 3 with the jurisprudence of the highest national courts in Germany, the United States, and France, in order to highlight proportional legal solutions for the protection of religious freedom and public health. In the last section, the consequences of the introduced restrictions are analysed from the perspective of religious associations, using the example of Poland. Lastly, predictions concerning future participation in religious services are also made

The validity of the principle of mutual trust between the EU Member States in mutual assistance for the recovery of public claims

The cooperation between the EU Member States for the recovery of public claims has been gradually strengthened through expanding the subjective scope to new categories of public claims, establishing forms of cooperation, most notably the possibility to recover claims arising in one state by authorities of another state, and establishing separate institutional frameworks of cooperation. The EU legislature placed great emphasis on the most transparent development of relationships between the EU Member States, and thus the validity of the principle of trust. The article analyses the current international cooperation in the recovery of public claims in view of the principle of mutual trust between the Member States that forms the basis for such cooperation

O różnych sposobach dążenia do specjalizacji sędziów orzekających w sprawach administracyjnych

The starting point of the study is the thesis on the need for the specialization and expertise of judges adjudicating in administrative matters. Then various methods by means of which this goal can be achieved are presented, both within a separate branch of the administrative judiciary and within the uniform system of the ordinary judiciary. The paper also indicates the negative aspects of excessive judicial specialization that are raised in the literature, which should not, however, negate the idea of being knowledgeable of more and more specific areas of administrative law, which is necessary for issuing lawful and socially acceptable decisions.Punktem wyjścia opracowania jest teza o potrzebie specjalizacji, fachowości sędziów orzekających w sprawach administracyjnych. Następnie przedstawiono różne sposoby, przy zastosowaniu których cel ten może zostać osiągnięty, zarówno w ramach wyodrębnionej gałęzi sądownictwa administracyjnego, jak i w obrębie jednolitego systemu sądownictwa powszechnego. W artykule wskazano ponadto podnoszone w literaturze negatywne strony nadmiernej specjalizacji sędziowskiej, co jednak nie powinno prowadzić do zanegowania samej idei znajomości coraz bardziej szczegółowych obszarów prawa administracyjnego, która dla wydawania zgodnych z prawem i społecznie akceptowalnych rozstrzygnięć jest niezbędna