The short article discusses the competences of ombudsmen in Sweden and Finland in relation to the judiciary. These institutions have controlling and supervisory powers in relation to courts of law, including the determination of the accountability of judges and typical competences of a prosecutor. The Author points out the necessity to read provisions of the constitutions and acts regulating the discussed competences in the light of the principle of the judiciary’s independence. Still, the supervisory rights of ombudsmen in Sweden and Finland are very well developed and may refer to issues approaching closely the sphere of jurisdiction. When assessing the solutions presented, the Author points out the fact that the ombudsmen in both countries have worked out respective practices aimed at such use of available means of control so they cannot be accused of a reasonable and too extended interference with the judiciary sphere.

On November 11, 2018, 100 years have passed since Poland regained its independence. This period, however, was not entirely the period of the peaceful development of a fully independent state, but a relatively short period of freedom (1918–1939) was interrupted by German occupation during World War II, and then by limited sovereignty and subjection to the Soviet Union in the years 1944–1989. It was not until 1989 that Poland entered again the path of political change that led to the democratization of social and political life and to the adoption in 1997 of the democratic Constitution that is still in force today. This difficult time is in line with the equally difficult history of the Polish judiciary, with the changing constitutional foundations of its organization and sometimes dramatic practice of its functioning. The aim of this study is to synthetically outline these issues, including the basic Polish constitutional norms of 1918– 2018 regarding the judiciary and a brief description of their impact on the functioning of Polish judicial authorities.

Delicts against Human Life in Province of XIII Scepus Towns in the Second Half of the 16th Century and the First Half of the 17th Century

This paper deals with delicts against human life (more specifically, newborn child murder by mother, killing in self-defence and accidental killing, premeditated homicide and manslaughter) in Province of XIII scepus towns, which were recorded in the protocols of central administration of Province of XIII scepus towns together with others records related to the administration of the province. Time limits of the issue are years 1550 and 1650.

The main purpose of the article is to determine the mutual relations between mediation and court proceedings, as well as to answer the question whether mediation services provided by out-of-court entities should be considered as a part of the justice system and fulfill the constitutional right to court. The conducted research leads to the conclusion that both the judiciary and mediation should be considered as complementary methods of dispute resolution, although the first of them is granted primacy under the Polish Constitution i.a. due to the fact that mediation settlements are subject to court approval and not all types of disputes can be resolved bindingly in mediation. Mediation does not belong sensu sticto to the definition of the judiciary and does not fulfill the right to justice but may be included in a broad understanding of the judiciary and therefore its existence according to current regulations does not violate the position and rules of functioning of the judicial system. However, this situation can easily change, if the mandatory mediation planned by the legislator in divorce and legal separation cases comes into force.

In this article, the author tries to point out the problems of the legal system and democratic society after 1989 in the condition of Slovak Republic and ultimately almost in all the countries of post-Communist period. The aim of this work is to point out the development of justice and judicial authorities in Slovakia since 1989 and its current state. The result should be the naming of all elements influencing the judiciary, decision-making activity of court in the context of the directive and the rules of the European Community. The next point is the description of the independence and connection of the judiciary and its offices to state power and related isues. Also, the autor describes to the establishment of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic as the highest office of the judiciary in the Slovak Republic, its competences, powers and functioning. In the same way there are listed other offices without which the judiciary as such could not function like Prosecutor’s Office of the Slovak Republic, Slovak Bar Association, Notary Chamber of the Slovak Republic and Slovak Chamber of Executors. At the end of the article the author evaluates the development of justice in the context of an ever-evolving democratic society.

In the context of reforming the legal system of Ukraine, the issue of judicial argumentation, which is developing in modern law schools, is necessary in current conditions of law enforcement process. In this regard, there is a need to outline the problematic aspects of the use of argumentation in the Ukrainian judicial system. This article is devoted to some features of the argumentation contained in decisions of Ukrainian courts. The article describes typical problems that occur during judicial argumentation, which hinder quality of justice. The author analyzes the logical approach to judicial argumentation, argumentation based on principles, the rhetorical approach and inductive as well as deductive argumentation during proceedings in Ukrainian courts. These are some of the most widely used approaches in judicial argumentation. The article provides some recommendations that can improve argumentation in Ukrainian judicial practice. These problems can be solved by improving the level of legal culture, increasing the education of litigants and by using other methods.

On February 17, 2008 Kosovo declared independence. The foundation for the creation of the Republic of Kosovo was the international community, which created the legal framework for the future statehood of Kosovo. The concept developed in the Athisari Plan of making the Judicial Council the guarantor of judicial autonomy and independence of judges was also a kind of anticipation of the subsequent fundamental changes in the system, introduced under the 2008 Constitution. This article attempts to analyze the systemic position of the Kosovo Judicial Council in the state system formed under the 2008 Constitution. It presents the composition of the Council, the procedure for the appointment of its members and the principles of its organization and functioning. The solution adopted in the Kosovo Basic Law is in line with the widely understood Southern European organizational model of judicial councils.

Institution of a Polish Judge’s Assistant on the Example of Selected European Countries

The aim of the article will be a trial to identify the “best” solution in Polish legal system, while identifying the main differences and similarities in selected systems of European countries. Taking the differences in the legal traditions and cultures of all judicial systems, there is a need for in-depth comparative studies. The article will characterize the position of a judge’s assistant in Poland in comparison with the other European countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy), which had the greatest impact on the development of Polish law. The article analyzes the position of an assistant judge in the Poland in relation to various systems of European law, in the institutional and legal dimension, taking into account practical problems and the applicable legal status. The authors also relied on the Opinion 22 (2019).As the conclusions, the authors proposed, inter alia, change of legal regulations regarding to the promotion of assistants in Poland.

In this article, the author argues that the introduction of measures in Poland to remedy violations of the rule of law, particularly regarding the judicial system, does not require so far referring to the principles of transitional justice. The author loosely refers to Ernst Fraenkel’s concept of a dual state which is sometimes used to describe the political reality in contemporary Poland. In a dual state, there are two parallel realities, and apart from politicized organs there may also exist institutions that have not yet been captured by the ruling party, i.e. institutions that do not recognise the current, unconstitutional legal order. Therefore, according to the author, the assessment of the legal legitimacy of certain institutions or persons (including judges), after the restoration of the rule of law in the nearest future, may differ from the classic transition from a completely non-democratic to a democratic regime.