Karolina Rokicka-Murszewska

The author analyzes crucial problems identified by the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland in the judgment of February 14, 2019 – case file no. II OSK 626/17 concerning the application in practice of the principle of good neighborhood, referred to in Article 61(1)(1) of the Act on Spatial Planning and Development. It should be noted that although the existing buildings determine the manner in which the conditions of a new investment are specified (due to the necessity of existence of “at least one neighboring plot”), various functions may co-exist within the framework of the existing and future developments, provided that they can be mutually reconciled. The purpose of the gloss is to demonstrate the appropriateness of the decision of the Court, which concluded that the existing housing development will have a negative impact on the residents of the new single-family housing estate due to the conflicting functions of the sites. In this respect, the reviewed judgment constitutes a certain attempt to prevent the so-called single-unit urbanism.

Gloss to the judgement of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) of 6 May 2021, II GSK 1057/20, is another voice in the debate on the quality of training for young lawyers. The authors considered the judgment to be an obstacle to the formulation of general theses relating to the legal training and vocational training of trainees attorney-at-law and their impact on the quality of the services they provide in the future. The role of the National Bar of Attorneys-at-Law is to ensure the proper exercise of those professions in the public interest and for the protection of the public interest. The training of young lawyers therefore affects not only the provision of legal services to different actors, but also the need to safeguard the public interest. In the glossed judgement the Court rightly pointed out that the result of the examination must correspond to the level of legal training. However, it went beyond the scope of the decisions on the results of the examinations, which are laid down in a regulation according to which the administrative courts do not review the marks awarded by the examiners, but the result of the examinations based on them. A divergent, inappropriate judgement by the SAC could lead to a five-instance trial. The SAC has no power to comment on the content of the appraisals, which would require an appropriate legal definition of the criteria for the submission of the individual appraisals, which would appear to be impossible in the context of expert appraisals.

Gloss to the judgement of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) of 6 May 2021, II GSK 1057/20, is another voice in the debate on the quality of training for young lawyers. The authors considered the judgment to be an obstacle to the formulation of general theses relating to the legal training and vocational training of trainees attorney-at-law and their impact on the quality of the services they provide in the future. The role of the National Bar of Attorneys-at-Law is to ensure the proper exercise of those professions in the public interest and for the protection of the public interest. The training of young lawyers therefore affects not only the provision of legal services to different actors, but also the need to safeguard the public interest. In the glossed judgement the Court rightly pointed out that the result of the examination must correspond to the level of legal training. However, it went beyond the scope of the decisions on the results of the examinations, which are laid down in a regulation according to which the administrative courts do not review the marks awarded by the examiners, but the result of the examinations based on them. A divergent, inappropriate judgement by the SAC could lead to a five-instance trial. The SAC has no power to comment on the content of the appraisals, which would require an appropriate legal definition of the criteria for the submission of the individual appraisals, which would appear to be impossible in the context of expert appraisals.

The third edition of the National Scientific Conference of Legal Professions of Public Trust was held on January 20, 2022. The event was organized remotely, due to the current epidemic situation, and was dedicated to the topic of membership in professional self-governments. The conference was organized by the Department of Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The main topics discussed during the conference were primarily inspired by the legislative changes concerning specific legal professions of public trust and also by de lege ferenda proposals regarding memberships in professional self-governments. A total of eleven presenters delivered lectures during the conference, both representatives of academic circles of six universities, as well as practitioners – representatives of professional self-governments of attorneys-at-law, advocates and notaries.