Exclusion of a justice under the civilian Procedure Act

The exclusion of a justice is an crucial mechanics to warrant impartiality and justice in civilian proceedings. The Code of civilian Procedure (KPC) in Article 48 shall specify clearly the cases in which a justice must be excluded from the proceedings. These regulations aim to prevent situations where conflicts of interest and the principles of a fair process could arise.

Exclusion of a justice from the law – iudex inhabilis

The exclusion of a justice from the law means that the justice is automatically excluded from the conduct of the case, without the request for appropriate requests from the parties. specified an exemption, besides referred to as iudex inhabilis, occurs in clearly defined situations which arise from legal provisions. This mechanics protects the principles of justice and ensures that the justice does not regulation on cases that might rise doubts about his impartiality.

Cases of exclusion of a justice in accordance with Article 48 of the KPC

Article 48 of the NPC lists six key situations in which a justice must be excluded from the proceedings:

1. Party on a case or legal relation with 1 of the parties: A justice may not conduct a case if he or she is simply a organization to the proceedings or is in specified a legal relation with 1 of the parties that the result of the case may straight affect his or her rights or obligations.
2. Cases of the spouse, relatives and awnings: The justice shall besides be excluded where his spouse, relatives or relatives in a consecutive line, siding relatives to the 4th degree and side relatives to the second degree are active in the proceedings.
3. Adoption, care or probation: The exclusion besides applies where the justice is associated with persons active in the proceedings by adoption, care or guardianship.
4. Plenipotentiary of 1 party: A justice may not regulation on the case if he previously served as a proxy for 1 of the parties in the same case.
5. Participation in the decision under appeal: A justice who has taken part in the decision under appeal at a lower instance shall besides be excluded from the conduct of the appeal proceedings.
6. Compensation for harm caused by a final judgment: The justice may not conduct damages cases if he has participated in a final judgement which has been declared unlawful.

Duration of the reasons for exclusion

The exclusion of a justice shall besides apply after the reasons justifying it have ceased. This means that even if, for example, the dissolution of a matrimony or the termination of care or probation took place, the exclusion of a justice from the conduct of the case remains in force, which guarantees the durability of the principles of impartiality and fairness.

Claims for resumption

A justice who has participated in the judgement on which a resumption of proceedings has been brought shall not be allowed to deal with that action. This aims at avoiding a situation in which a justice assesses his earlier ruling. This is an additional mechanics to guarantee impartiality and fairness.

The importance of excluding a justice in practice

The exclusion of a justice is simply a fundamental component in ensuring the impartiality and fairness of the judicial process. The elimination of possible conflicts of interest and ensuring that judicial decisions are taken objectively and reasonably is simply a basis for trust in the judiciary. Compliance with the rules on the exclusion of a justice is essential for the protection of the rights of the parties to the proceedings and for the equitable settlement of disputes.

As the ultimate Court pointed out in its judgement of 20 January 1998, the mention to Act I CKN 347/97, ‘the absence of a justice is not only an nonsubjective feature, but besides a subjective feeling of the parties who must be certain that their case will be heard by an independent and nonsubjective judge’.

Summary

The civilian Procedure Code shall specify precisely the cases in which a justice must be excluded from the proceedings. Article 48 of the KPC identifies six main situations where the exemption takes place under the law itself. Thanks to these regulations, the Polish legal strategy ensures fair and impartial handling of civilian matters, which is the foundation of justice and the regulation of law. Compliance with these principles is essential to defend the rights of parties to proceedings and to keep assurance in the justice strategy in Poland.

We remind you that this publication concerns the exclusion of a judge, not a neojudge.

The information on the website is simply a description of the legal position at the date of publication and is not a legal advice on an individual case. The legal position of publication may change. The law firm is not liable for utilizing an alert to solve legal problems.

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