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Poland The Supreme Court
Reform of the appointment mechanism for justices was a
necessity to ensure an independent judiciary. In the
communist
era, the Council of State appointed Supreme Court justices
to
five-year terms, making selections on purely political
grounds.
Because the Supreme Court had jurisdiction over all other
courts
in the land, the political reliability of its members was
an
important consideration in appointment decisions. Judicial
reform
after the Round Table Agreement provided that the
president
appoint Supreme Court justices from a list prepared by an
independent National Judicial Council, and that justices
be
appointed for life terms. The presiding officer of the
Supreme
Court, called the first chairman, is appointed from among
the
Supreme Court justices by the National Assembly upon the
recommendation of the president. Dismissal from the
chairmanship
follows the same procedure.
The Supreme Court reviews the decisions of all lower
courts;
hears appeals of decisions made by the district courts,
along
with appeals brought by the minister of justice (who
simultaneously serves as the prosecutor general) and the
first
chairman of the Supreme Court; and adopts legal
interpretations
and clarifications. The court is organized into four
chambers:
criminal, civil, labor and social insurance, and military.
Because of its heavy case load, the Supreme Court is a
large
body, employing 117 judges and a staff of 140 persons in
late
1990.
Data as of October 1992
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