Month: June 2015

In May 2011, the Regional Examination Commission (REC) voided the results of a chemistry maturity exam of a group of students from schools in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, claiming that the student did not write the exam independently. Initially, the students only received general information which did not directly specify the exercises which raised examiners’ doubts.

“For those students, annulling the results of the exam had dire consequences. Without an opportunity to appeal this decision, the students were not able to apply for studies, and their plans for the upcoming years became unrealistic,” says advocate Paweł Osik.

The students appealed the REC’s decision to the administrative court. The court ruled, however, that there is no possibility in law to question the annulment of a maturity exam. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld this ruling. It also emphasized that the sheer fact of having one’s maturity certificate does not determine the “right” to be admitted to any studies.

18 students filed complaints with the Constitutional Tribunal questioning the lack of procedures to appeal decisions annulling a maturity exam. They claimed that this gap in law violates, among others, their right to court and education, as well as the rights to protection of dignity and good name.

During the proceedings before the Constitutional Tribunal, the director of the Central Examination Commission argued that the decision-making process on the annulment of a maturity exam has multiple stages. “The problem is that the whole procedure had an internal character. The students did not know that such proceedings were ongoing. Nor did they have the possibility of presenting their own arguments,” says advocate Paweł Osik.

In the proceedings before the Constitutional Tribunal, representatives of the Prosecutor General claimed that the complaints were illegitimate because the students did not exhaust all available legal measures, for example they did not appeal to a civil court. “In our opinion, a civil court is not proper in this matter. In our constitutional complaints, we indicated a violation of the right to a proper court. And actions of administrative organs are controlled by administrative courts. A common court will not void a decision issued by an administrative body,” says advocate Paweł Osik.

The Constitutional Tribunal postponed the trial until 22nd June 2015.

Information published by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna suggests that cases notified to prosecutors’ offices were too often registered in the Ko register instead of the investigative register. The former contains cases notified anonymously, or those which belong to the competences of another prosecutor’s office. This practice was to cover the actual rate of incoming cases and, thus, produce better statistical outcomes for a given prosecutor’s office.

„This situation proves that the problem of how to maintain statistics is noticed even within the prosecution itself. If the Ko register contains over 50 per cent of cases then this is a disquieting signal,” says advocate Paweł Osik. “Appropriate registration of cases has great importance from the perspective of the right to a fair trial and the right to have one’s case heard without undue delay,” he adds.

„Inevitability of even lenient punishment is more important than its severity. Rigid sanctions should be considered with great caution. The court ought to have the necessary flexibility in imposing a penalty, so that it can each time adjust it to the circumstances of a given case,” write advocates Małgorzata Mączka-Pacholak and Paweł Osik in their commentary on the amendments to Polish traffic law.
The traffic law amendments introduce, among others, new categories of crimes (driving without required permits which, until now, was a minor offence) and new rules governing the seizure of a driving license. In the light of the new regulation, exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h in an urban area can lead to the seizure of the license for 3 months.

„As much as the intentions of legislators are good, one cannot resist the impression that the new rules can prove difficult to execute,” write the lawyers from Pietrzak Sidor & Partners Law Firm (the commentary was published in Gazeta Finansowa at the end of May 2015).

„We should remember that criminal law, increasingly more severe, will not solve all the problems for us, including on our roads. Regard for wise law, which will be respected for that reason, can – in turn – help a lot,” comment advocates Małgorzata Mączka-Pacholak and Paweł Osik.

Maria Radziejowska graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw and the LL.M. programme of the University of Amsterdam. She has been an advocate trainee at the Warsaw Bar Association since 2014. She has gained professional experience, among others, at the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She has also cooperated with national institutions, including the Office of the Human Rights Defender and the Polish Institute of International Affairs (more information on Maria Radziejowska is available in “Team”).

“We are impressed with the passion and engagement with which Maria works. We are very happy that she joined our team,” says advocate Mikołaj Pietrzak.