Judges and the procedural aspects of law

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role that judges may play in the field of procedural law. The considerations are based on opinions delivered by judges of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court and presented in published reasons for resolutions or decisions of these courts. The analysis covered, predominantly, judicial decisions contained in the last recent court annuals in the presumption that previous solutions and judgments are relevant and apply to current problems of procedural law application. The results of the research suggest an increased role of judges in procedural law, whose jurisdiction widens and leads, in consequence, to greater repetitiveness of procedures. However, the very effectiveness and efficiency of recognising cases continues to pose difficulties, the result of which is that judicial discourse remains dominated by organisational or technical problems. These are due to still inadequate legislation on the one hand, and judges’ fixed attitudes to procedural issues, on the other. The maintenance of legitimised behaviour and lack of axiological involvement on the part of judges are conducive to creating communications barriers, which in turn is detrimental to the material functions and purposes of court protection.