The lack of the possibility of appealing against a court’s decision which deprives an injured person of his/her status as a litigant SK 5/16
Ref. No. SK 5/16
JUDGMENT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Warsaw, 3 October 2018
The Constitutional Tribunal, composed of:
Piotr Pszczółkowski – Presiding Judge
Zbigniew Jędrzejewski
Leon Kieres
Piotr Tuleja
Andrzej Zielonacki – Judge Rapporteur
having considered, at a sitting in camera on 3 October 2018 – in accordance with Article 92(1)(1) of the Act of 30 November 2016 on the Organisation of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Mode of Proceedings Before the Constitutional Tribunal (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. item 2072) – Mr J.S.’s constitutional complaint lodged with the Tribunal to consider the conformity of:
Article 56(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code of 6 June 1997 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. No. 89, item 555, as amended) – “insofar as it rules out the admissibility of appealing against a decision issued on the basis of Article 56(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code with regard to a subsidiary prosecutor referred to in Article 54 of the said Code” – to Article 78 in conjunction with Article 176(1), Article 45(1), Article 31(3) and Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,
adjudicates as follows:
Article 56(3) of the Act of 6 June 1997 – the Criminal Procedure Code (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. No. 89, item 555, as amended), in the version that was binding until 30 June 2015, i.e. until the day preceding the entry into force of Article 1(13) of the Act of 27 September 2013 amending the Criminal Procedure Code and certain other acts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. item 1247) – insofar as it rules out the admissibility of appealing against a decision issued on the basis of Article 56(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code with regard to a subsidiary prosecutor acting beside a public prosecutor – is inconsistent with Article 78 in conjunction with Article 31(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
Moreover, the Tribunal decides:
pursuant to Article 59(1)(3) of the Act of 30 November 2016 on the Organisation of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Mode of Proceedings Before the Constitutional Tribunal (Journal of Laws – Dz. U., item 2072), to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.
The ruling was unanimous.
Piotr Pszczółkowski
Zbigniew Jędrzejewski
Leon Kieres
Piotr Tuleja
Andrzej Zielonacki