The costs of unpaid legal representation provided by a court-appointed advocate SK 90/22
Ref. No. SK 90/22
JUDGMENT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Warsaw, 27 February 2024
The Constitutional Tribunal, composed of:
Jakub Stelina – Presiding Judge
Wojciech Sych – Judge Rapporteur
Bogdan Święczkowski,
having considered, at a sitting in camera on 27 February 2024 – 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. of 2019, item 2393) – Mr R.M.’s constitutional complaint lodged with the Constitutional Tribunal to examine the conformity of:
§ 2(1) in conjunction with § 4(1) and (3) in conjunction with § 17(3)(1) of the Regulation of 3 October 2016 issued by the Minister of Justice with regard to the State Treasury’s coverage of the costs of unpaid legal representation provided by a court-appointed advocate[1] (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2019, item 18) to Article 64(2) in conjunction with Article 31(3), Article 32(1), second sentence, and Article 92(1), first sentence, of the Constitution,
adjudicates as follows:
§ 2(1) in conjunction with § 4(1) of the Regulation of 3 October 2016 issued by the Minister of Justice with regard to the State Treasury’s coverage of the costs of unpaid legal representation provided by a court-appointed advocate (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2019, item 18) – insofar as the costs of unpaid legal representation provided by a court-appointed advocate, and incurred by the State Treasury, are specified in the said provision in the amount lower than the minimum fees for the services of advocates set in the Minister of Justice’s Regulation of 22 October 2015 on rates for the services of advocates (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2023, item 1964, as amended) – is inconsistent with Article 64(2) in conjunction with Article 31(3), Article 32(1), second sentence, and Article 92(1), first sentence, of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
Moreover, the Tribunal decides:
to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.
The ruling was unanimous.
Jakub Stelina
Wojciech Sych
Bogdan Święczkowski
[1] Under Polish law, both advocates (Pl. adwokat) and legal advisers (Pl. radca prawny) make up the category of attorneys (attorneys-at-law), admitted to the Bar, and fully qualified to provide professional legal representation; the main difference between the first and the latter is the range of contracts on the basis of which they are permitted by law to provide their legal services.