The Right to a Fair Trial and the Administration of Justice in the Polish Judiciary System During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Summary The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disturbed people’s lives all over the world for many months and it has had a weighty impact on all spheres of life, both in terms of the private sphere of individuals and in relation to the functioning of state institutions, including courts. To protect public health and limit the number of infected citizens, it became necessary for state authorities to introduce emergency measures, some of which resulted in far-reaching restrictions on human rights – and the right to a fair trial was no exception. This article aims at presenting the way in which the Polish judiciary functioned during the pandemic, as well as the main problems related to exercising the right to a fair trial during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a lack of openness of court proceedings, remote hearings and the removal of the collegiality of judicial adjudication in most civil cases.