The Faces and Paradoxes of Judicial Accountability

The article regards the problem how to separate judicial accountability from the other forms odf judges liability. It presents a proposal of judicial accountability concept in legal science, the basic assumptions for the settlement of judicial power towards forms of responsibility, proposing the separation of these categories. and the subject and object scope of judicial accountability. The result of the analysis are conclusions on the forms of accountability within judicial power, especially judges’ decisions - and outlining some threats that apply to them.

100 years of defining the Polish model of “separation” of the judiciary – what we had, what we have and what we might want to have

The subject of the study is an analysis of over a hundred years of practice defining the role and political position of courts in Poland. The verification will be subject to compliance in the practice of exercising power not only with constitutional provisions (or indicating the reasons and consequences of their omission), but also with other regulations that accompany the creation and application of specific legal solutions in the context of guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary. At the same time, the assessment of the adopted solutions in terms of respect for the standards developed by international bodies for the protection of individual freedoms and rights and EU bodies was taken into account.

The material independence of judges is one of the essential guarantees of their independence and, at the same time, the proper functioning of the judiciary. Of course, one should not conclude from this that there is a simple relationship between independence and the material status of judges, nor should one presume a general prohibition on reducing judicial salaries. Undoubtedly, however, commensurate remuneration is permanently linked to the question of judicial independence. The aim of this article is to analyze premises of the permissibility of “freezing” adjustment of judges’ salaries in the light of international legal standards. The article is based on a specific factual situation, as in 2023, that basic salary adjustment for judges of common courts in Poland was “frozen” for the third year in a row.