Remote trial in criminal proceedings as a threat to the implementation of the principle of immediacy? Reflections on the background of the Polish legal order

Abstract

This article establishes whether a trial conducted with the use of technical devices with simultaneous direct transmission of video and audio can cause a limitation or even a threat to the realization of the principle of immediacy in criminal proceedings, which is an element of a fair trial. The author identified how the principle of immediacy is implemented in selected orders of European countries, i.e. Poland, Austria, Germany and England. The author analyzed the provisions for conducting a remote trial in Polish criminal proceedings. The author paid particular attention to the technical issues that limit the realization of the principle of immediacy during a remote trial, and presented the results of a survey of members of legal profession in Poland who also perceive these threats (also in the context of the standards of a fair trial). These considerations led the author to conclude that cases of conducting the trial with the use of technical devices with simultaneous direct transmission of video and audio may constitute a limitation of the principle of immediacy and, consequently, pose a threat to fair trial standards.