Administrative courts in the 1990s

Proper understanding of the nature and developmental tendencies of general administrative courts requires a retrospect view, reaching to the pre-war period. Despite the absence of administrative courts from the Polish scene for over forty years, there is undoubtedly a certain consistent developmental line. Namely, the dratfs of administrative courts legislation from 1958 and 1972 clearly referred to the Acts on the Supreme Administrative Tribunal; the same Acts had great influence on the Law of 31 January 1980 on the Chief Administrative Court. The author characterises the organisation and the scope of activity of the Chief Administrative Tribunal. Then he presents the amendments introduced in 1990, in particular the widening of ratione materiae jurisdiction (a general clause with very few exceptions) and granting to that Tribunal the powers resulting from the emergence of local self-government (i.a. judicial control of acts connected with the execution by state authorities of supervision over local self-government, settlement of competence disputes between local self-government and central state administration organs). In the final part of his article the author investigates developmental prospects of administrative courts and the provisions of the future Constitution.Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/201