The principle of openness in administrative court proceedings

On the basis of Article 15zzs4 of the Act of March 2, 2020 on special measures to prevent, counteract and combat COVID-19, other infectious diseases and emergencies caused by them, and in connection with the recurrence of successive “pandemic waves” in the fall of 2020, administrative courts began to cancel open hearings and ordered the proceedings to be held during closed door hearings. The aim of this article is to evaluate the aforementioned “COVID regulations” introduced into the Polish legal order which restrict the right of the parties to an open hearing of a case that is pending before administrative courts as well as an attempt to answer the question whether the way judges of administrative courts apply the aforementioned regulations in the era of the widespread epidemic conforms to the principles of a democratic state of law.

On the basis of Article 15zzs4 of the Act of March 2, 2020 on special measures to prevent, counteract and combat COVID-19, other infectious diseases and emergencies caused by them, and in connection with the recurrence of successive “pandemic waves” in the fall of 2020, administrative courts began to cancel open hearings and ordered the proceedings to be held during closed door hearings. The aim of this article is to evaluate the aforementioned “COVID regulations” introduced into the Polish legal order which restrict the right of the parties to an open hearing of a case that is pending before administrative courts as well as an attempt to answer the question whether the way judges of administrative courts apply the aforementioned regulations in the era of the widespread epidemic conforms to the principles of a democratic state of law.