Strona główna - Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny

On September 25-26, 2024, members of the delegation of the Supreme Administrative Court, headed by the Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court, President of the General Administrative Chamber, Jerzy Siegień, participated in the conference on “Online Privacy and Freedom of the Media: Judicial Perspective” organized in Vilnius by the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, Vilnius University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. Vice-President Jerzy Siegień gave a lecture on “Recusal of a Judge as a Guarantee of Court Impartiality”. During the conference, the Supreme Administrative Court was also represented by other members of the delegation: Małgorzata Miron – Chairwoman of Department II of the General Administrative Chamber, Judges of the Supreme Administrative Court Andrzej Skoczylas and Bartosz Wojciechowski, as well as Adrianna Tarłowska – Senior Assistant to the Judge and Chief Specialist in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition, during two panels, the Lithuanian and Ukrainian sides presented their presentations on, among others, harmonization of values ​​in law, restrictions on freedom of speech, ensuring privacy and media freedom within the rule of law, and the participation of judges in public debates on issues of public interest.

On 27 September 2024, a trilateral Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian meeting was held with representatives of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania and the Administrative Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, during which the Presidents of the courts discussed the role of administrative courts in ensuring effective protection of human rights in the area of ​​public administration and the current challenges arising from it. Vice-President Jerzy Siegień discussed this issue in his speech on effective protection of human rights implemented by guaranteeing the right to a court in its full scope.

On September 1–3, 2024, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Prof. Dr. Hab. Jacek Chlebny, received a visit from a delegation from the Federal Administrative Court of the Federal Republic of Germany, headed by the President of the FSA, Prof. Dr. Andreas Korbmacher. The meeting was combined with a seminar and was held at the seat of the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk.

On the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court and the President of the Federal Administrative Court jointly laid wreaths at the Monument to the Defenders of the Polish Post Office in Gdańsk, accompanied by scouts from the Representative Troop of the Gdańsk Banner of the Polish Scouting Association and with the participation of representatives of the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk.

The seminar was a continuation of the long-standing cooperation between the Supreme Administrative Court and the Federal Administrative Court of Germany. The Federal Administrative Court was represented by: Prof. Dr. Andreas Korbmacher – President of the Court, judges: Daniela Hampel and Dr. Kolja Naumann – Spokespersons of the FSA, as well as presidium judge Martin Steinkühler. The Polish administrative judiciary was represented by: President of the Supreme Administrative Court Prof. Dr. Hab. Jacek Chlebny, Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court President of the General Administrative Chamber Jerzy Siegień, Disciplinary Spokesman of the Supreme Administrative Court Zdzisław Kostka, judges of the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk, including President of the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk Zbigniew Romała and Vice-President of the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk Jolanta Górska, as well as Chief Specialist in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court Przemysław Florjanowicz-Błachut.

During the seminar, the following issues were discussed, among others, the status of an administrative court judge in Germany and Poland and the grounds for excluding a judge from hearing a case, current problems in spatial development law, as well as cassation and substantive rulings from the perspective of the constitutional principle of separation of powers. The Polish and German papers were presented by the following judges: Dr. Kolja Naumann and Prof. Dr. Hab. Jacek Chlebny, Martin Steinkühler and Jerzy Siegień, and Daniela Hampel and Zdzisław Kostka.

On 10 June 2024, a delegation from the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Austria visited the Supreme Administrative Court. The delegation was led by the President of the NTA of the Republic of Austria, Prof. Dr. Rudolf Thienel, accompanied by the Head of the Presidium Office of the NTA of the Republic of Austria, NTA Judge Dr. Peter Doblinger, and the Chairwoman of the Press Department of the NTA of the Republic of Austria, NTA Judge Mag. Dr. Bettina Maurer-Kober, LL.M.

During the visit, the President of the NTA, Prof. Dr. Rudolf Thienel, gave a lecture on the reform of the administrative judiciary in Austria, which was listened to by judges and employees of the Supreme Administrative Court and judges of the provincial administrative courts.

A Polish-Austrian seminar was also held, devoted to the functioning of the administrative judiciary in both countries, which was opened by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Prof. Dr. Hab. Jacek Chlebny. The seminar was attended by the Vice-President of the Supreme Administrative Court, President of the General Administrative Chamber, Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Jerzy Siegień, Chairman of the Division II of the Financial Chamber of the Supreme Administrative Court, Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Tomasz Zborzyński, as well as presidents of the provincial administrative courts: Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Dr. Anna Dumas (Provincial Administrative Court in Kraków), Judge of the Provincial Administrative Court Renata Kantecka (Provincial Administrative Court in Olsztyn), Judge of the Provincial Administrative Court Sławomir Pauter (Provincial Administrative Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski), Judge of the Provincial Administrative Court Jakub Zieliński (Provincial Administrative Court in Poznań), Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Jacek Surmacz (Provincial Administrative Court in Rzeszów), Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Wojciech Mazur (Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw) and Judge of the Provincial Administrative Court in Łódź, Dr. Hab. Prof. UŁ Agnieszka Krawczyk, chief specialists and judge assistants in the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.

On 2-3 May 2024, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Jacek Chlebny, took part in the Judges' Forum and the conference entitled "20th anniversary of the accession of 10 countries to the European Union: A new constitutional moment for Europe", organized by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the accession of ten countries to the European Union.

During the Judges' Forum, selected issues concerning EU law were discussed. During the first working session, devoted to the preliminary reference procedure and the latest case law concerning the procedural aspects of this procedure, papers were presented by: President of the CJEU Koen Lenaerts and President of the Supreme Administrative Court Jacek Chlebny.

On 31 January 2024, a ceremony was held to bring the mortal remains of Prof. Dr. Bronisław Hełczyński (1890-1978), First President of the Supreme Administrative Tribunal (1934-1939), Head of the Civil Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Ignacy Mościcki (1931-1934), Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile (1974-1976), and his wife Natalia Hełczyńska née Kulczycka (1901-1979) from Great Britain to Poland.

A funeral mass with an honorary escort was held at 3:00 p.m. in the Church of St. Karol Boromeusz on Powązkowska Street in Warsaw, followed by a walk to the family grave at Stare Powązki (section 158, row 2, seats 28,29,30).

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented during the ceremony by the President of the Financial Chamber, Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court Jan Rudowski, Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court Hieronim Kulczycki, Head of the Secretariat of the Financial Chamber Dorota Lato, Dr. Krzysztof Zaorski from the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.

During the ceremony, a commemorative letter from the President of the Supreme Administrative Court Jacek Chlebny was read. It presented the life path of the late Prof. Bronisław Hełczyński, his scientific activity and, within the pre-war administrative judiciary, the functions held in the country and in exile, and the most important achievements.

On January 30, 2024, the seat of the Supreme Administrative Court was visited by Mrs. Wanda Plummer - the daughter of Prof. Bronisław Hełczyński, together with his immediate family. The visit was accompanied by the opening of a commemorative exhibition entitled Bronisław Hełczyński (1890-1978) – state activist, judge, scholar, presenting the figure and achievements of the last First President of the Supreme Administrative Court.

The Supreme Administrative Court was represented during the meeting by the President of the Financial Chamber and the Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, as well as by the employees of the Supreme Administrative Court, who prepared the commemorative exhibition. Mrs. Wanda Plummer presented her personal reflections on the fate and activity of her Father. During the meeting, President Jan Rudowski presented Mrs. Wanda Plummer with a commemorative medal minted on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Administrative Court. She was also handed a commemorative letter from the Rector of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, addressed to the Family of the late Prof. Bronisław Hełczyński.

Ladies and Gentlemen Judges of the Supreme Administrative Court and Voivodship Administrative Courts, Colleagues,

on January 3, 2024, I received the "Open Letter from the Board of the National Association of Administrative Court Judges to the President of the Supreme Administrative Court". The letter was published on the website of the National Association of Administrative Court Judges and the Association of Polish Judges "Iustitia". I would like to draw your attention to the following circumstances:

I. I accept with surprise and concern the form of communication chosen by the Board of the National Association of Administrative Court Judges. I would not refuse a meeting with the Chairwoman of the Association's Board, Ms. Aleksandra Wrzesińska-Nowacka, Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court, as well as with the other Members of the Board: Ms. Izabella Kulig-Maciszewska, retired Sr. Sr. and Gentlemen Judges of the Provincial Administrative Courts: Sr. Renata Detka (Provincial Administrative Court in Kielce), Sr. Paweł Groński (Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw), Sr. Barbara Kołodziejczak-Osetek (Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw), Sr. Jacek Niedzielski (Provincial Administrative Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski) and Sr. Maria Zawadzka (Provincial Administrative Court in Kraków). Together with Sr. Sr. Aleksandra Wrzesińska-Nowacka, we have been serving as judges together in the same building for many years.

II. The letter sets out the following expectations towards the President of the Supreme Administrative Court:

1) withdrawal of announced and unfinished competitions for vacant judicial positions in provincial administrative courts and for the positions of assessors in these courts, as well as refraining from announcing new competitions in these courts,

2) discontinuation of appointing judges appointed at the request of the National Council of the Judiciary in the composition formed after 2018 to adjudicating panels,

3) exclusion from drawing lots for court panels to consider the application referred to in art. 5a of the Act of 25 July 2002 - Law on the Organization of Administrative Courts (consolidated text Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2492) of judges referred to in point 2,

4) refraining from drawing lots for the composition of the disciplinary court of judges referred to in point 2.

The actions of each body, both judicial and public administration, must find a legal basis in applicable legal provisions. It is a pity that the letter does not indicate them. The President of the Supreme Administrative Court has no competence with respect to the above-mentioned actions in points 2-4. I note that any actions taken by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court in this respect could also violate the independence of judges. Referring to the participation of a judge appointed at the request of the National Council of the Judiciary after 2018 in considering the application submitted under Art. 5a of the Act of 25 July 2002 - Law on the Organization of Administrative Courts, it is also worth noting the possibility of effectively filing a request to exclude a judge by a party to the proceedings or the judge himself (e.g. resolutions of the Supreme Administrative Court of 5 April 2023 and of 12 April 2023 in case I FSK 2040/22). As regards point 1, with regard to the competitions already underway for the positions of assessors and judges in provincial administrative courts, their host is the National Council of the Judiciary. The applicable provisions do not provide for the "withdrawal of the announcement" resulting in the suspension or termination of the ongoing proceedings for the appointment to the office of a judge or appointment to the position of assessor. Another issue is the possibility and advisability of suspending proceedings involving candidates for judge or assessor positions by the National Council of the Judiciary itself due to the need to implement the pilot judgment of the ECtHR of 23 November 2023 in the case Wałęsa v. Poland and the call addressed to members of the National Council of the Judiciary, which was contained in the resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland of 20 December 2023 on removing the effects of the constitutional crisis in the context of the systemic position and function of the National Council of the Judiciary in a democratic state ruled by law (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1457). Being – pursuant to Article 187 sec. 1 point 1 of the Constitution – a member of the National Council of the Judiciary, I did not participate in its work due to doubts as to the correctness of the judicial composition of the Council, which were formulated in numerous rulings of the Supreme Administrative Court (e.g. judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 6 May 2021, II GOK 2/18), CJEU and ECHR. For these reasons, I am considering the need, after seeking the opinion of the College of the Supreme Administrative Court, to temporarily suspend new announcements of vacant assessor and judicial positions in provincial administrative courts. At the same time, it cannot be ignored that the exclusion from adjudicative work of judges appointed at the request of the National Council of the Judiciary submitted in 2018 and in subsequent years, as postulated in the letter of the Association, will involve additional adjudicative obligations of the remaining judges in order to ensure the parties the right to have their case considered without undue delay, guaranteed by Article 45 of the Constitution, Article 6 of the ECHR and Article 47 KPP. Citizens cannot suffer the negative effects of slowing down the pace of resolving their cases. The favorable trend of hearing more cases than are received by the Supreme Administrative Court, of which we are proud, can be reversed. Over the past year, the Supreme Administrative Court, with the great effort of all judges, managed to control the inflow of cases and reduce their backlog, despite a significant increase in the number of cases received by the Supreme Administrative Court. In 2023, 24,644 cases were received by the Supreme Administrative Court, which is nearly 1,200 more than in 2022, when 23,448 cases were received. The number of cassation appeals in 2023 is the highest in the history of the Supreme Administrative Court and amounts to 19,645. In 2023, 25,653 cases were resolved, compared to 21,530 cases in 2022. These numbers give citizens hope that their disputes with the administration will be resolved sooner than before. The efficiency of the proceedings in the provincial administrative courts, measured by the statistical average time of considering a case, does not exceed 5 months. Achieving such very good results in the efficiency of the proceedings required a lot of effort and your personal involvement, for which I am very grateful.