Abstract
This article outlines the complex history of Polish law concerning constitutional guarantees of individual rights, restrictions on those rights during states of emergency and wartime, and the development of the Polish judicial system.
Poland regained its independence in 1918 after 123 years of partition. The first modern constitution of the reborn state was adopted in 1921. The article describes how threats to statehood and the rise of authoritarianism in the 1930s led to the curtailment of civil rights and freedoms almost immediately after the Constitution’s adoption. It also explains how World War II and Poland’s political dependence on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics affected civil rights and freedoms, as well as the organization of courts and tribunals.
The article also provides an overview of the current legal system, which has undergone changes due to attempts to introduce authoritarian elements between 2015 and 2023, as well as the continuing threat posed by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Recommended Citation
Marek Tecza,
General Overview of the Administration of Justice in the Republic of Poland,
50
S. Ill. U. L.J.
565
(2026).
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol50/iss3/6