Openness of court proceedings in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights

The subject of this article is the right to open court proceedings as guaranteed in Article 6(1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The most important elements of this right are: the right to participate in a court hearing, the right to access to the case files and the right to acquaint with the ruling. This right applies not only to the parties to the proceedings, but also – albeit to a lesser extent – to every citizen. The text discusses the findings of the doctrine and the European Court of Human Rights, at times criticizing them especially with regard to the too narrow definition of the obligation to publicly announce the judgment. In addition, the article analyzes the extent to which the Polish law encourages openness in civil, criminal and judicial-administrative procedures.

The subject of this article is the right to open court proceedings as guaranteed in Article 6(1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The most important elements of this right are: the right to participate in a court hearing, the right to access to the case files and the right to acquaint with the ruling. This right applies not only to the parties to the proceedings, but also – albeit to a lesser extent – to every citizen. The text discusses the findings of the doctrine and the European Court of Human Rights, at times criticizing them especially with regard to the too narrow definition of the obligation to publicly announce the judgment. In addition, the article analyzes the extent to which the Polish law encourages openness in civil, criminal and judicial-administrative procedures.