The trust of Poles in the judiciary present reaches a evidence bottom. The latest IBRiS poll for “Rzeczpospolita” shows that only 36.1 percent of citizens declare their religion in the justice system. This is simply a drop of over 6 percent points in just a year. It is even more striking that only 2.3% of the surveyed "strongly trust" the courts — the least in investigation history.
Why specified a dramatic decline? This is not a substance of the momentary whim of public opinion. This is the consequence of long-growing pathology: political entanglement, compromising scandals involving judges and the feeling that criminals leave the courts with judgments that offend the sense of justice.
The problem began erstwhile the courts ceased to be seen as independent. It is hard to trust an institution that, alternatively of standing on the side of political war, has become 1 of its tools. In fresh years, the public has been bombarded with information about pressures on judges, personnel cleaning, promotions for loyalty to the rulers and penalties for independence. Poles observed the Constitutional Court, erstwhile a respected bastion of law, transforms into a body issuing judgments under the dictatorship of power. It was his president, Julia Przyłębska, named by Jarosław Kaczyński "social discovery", that became a symbol of the politicalization of the judiciary for many. erstwhile the Court tightened abortion law in 2020, many citizens read it not as an independent judgment, but as fulfilling the expectations of the ruling party. As a result, courts began to be treated not as institutions of the law, but as a political component of the game.
The second pillar of the crisis is the moral and corruption scandal among judges. The case of justice Arkadiusz Cichocki was loud, who was to participate in the alleged hatred scandal, or run to slander independent judges on social media. The case of the erstwhile Vice-President of the Court of Appeals in Krakow, Krzysztof S., convicted of participating in an organized criminal group extorting funds from the Justice Fund, was even more outrageous. specified cases are no longer treated as exceptions. The list of offences among justice officials is increasing, and the average citizen increasingly sees in the judge, not the guardian of the law, but the privileged caste defending its own interests.
The third, possibly the most painful reason for the failure of trust is the practice of judgment, or judgments, which undermine the social sense of justice. erstwhile a recidivist rapes a kid and gets a fewer years suspended, erstwhile a thug who beats a man walks out of court with a fine and a restraining order, and the deceived franchists over the years can't wait for justice, anger grows in people. An example? The case of a man from Gdańsk who brutally beat his partner unconscious, and the court of first instance considered that it was not an attempted murder. It was only after the case was made public in the media and the prosecutor's appeal that the conviction was tightened. Or the case of a justice from Katowice who stole electronic equipment from the store — he was not convicted, he was disciplinaryly transferred. These are decisions that, in the eyes of the public, appear to be disconnected from reality.
At the same time, it besides disappoints the efficiency of the full system. People spend years waiting for simple civilian cases to be resolved. The dimension of proceedings, the unfriendly language of procedural writings, the sense of confusion and powerlessness are everyday for thousands of citizens who hoped that the court would be their last resort. Instead, they end up in a labyrinth of formalism, where procedures are more crucial than man.
All this together leads to social erosion of the contract. Without religion in the courts, it's hard to talk about trust in the state. erstwhile citizens begin to think that it is better to “settle the substance by knowing” than to trust the court, something fundamental breaks. This is no longer a political or legal problem, but a civilizational one. The belief that the law is simply a fiction leads to the resignation of civilian engagement and, in utmost cases, the acceptance of lawlessness.
It is besides worrying that this wave of distrust does not concern only the general courts. Trust in the Constitutional Court and the prosecution is besides falling. The Court presently enjoys only a 30% assurance level and a 37% prosecution. This means that the full justice strategy has ceased to be seen as effective and impartial. alternatively of building trust, it creates anxiety.
Can it be reversed? Technically, yes. But not just the improvement of laws, but the change of approach. It is essential to depoliticise institutions, to clarify procedures, to have a real disciplinary work and, above all, to have empathy for the citizen. due to the fact that today, courts frequently seem like fortresses closed to average people.
The IBRiS survey shows not only numbers but besides the state of the spirit of society. erstwhile only 2.3% of Poles say that they “certainly trust” the courts, you can no longer talk about warning. It's an emergency signal. If the justice executive ignores him, we won't talk about a crisis of trust in a fewer years. We'll talk about his full absence.
