Some remarks on the concepts of organizing administrative courts in Poland 1918-2002 : the perspective of a legal historian

Both in the research studies and the suggestions de lege ferenda various concepts of judicial control over administration were discussed in Poland in the period between 1918 and 2002. Despite the fact that the March Constitution of 1921 explicitely required that the system of administrative courts be introduced and despite numerous postulates and drafts of bills to this end, the inter-war-period (1918-1939) limited itself to forming the Supreme Administrative Tribunal (NTA, 1922) only. However in the Polish area that previously was the Prussian partition zone, the Prussian structure of administrative courts, when adapted to Polish needs, was preserved. Following Word War II, despite unfriendly attitude of the regime toward the judicial control over administration, the debates referring to the latter were continued. In fact, the factual debates were possible only in the period of political thaw (e. g. in 1956-1958 or the mid seventies of the 20th century which produced both the discussion and the drafts of bills relating to the discussed system of courts). However after Word War II the Supreme Administrative Tribunal was not brought back to life and therefore the control function visa- vis the administration were, from 1950, performed by the public prosecutor agencies. It was only in 1980 that the Main Administrative Court (NSA) was established. In the first phase of its existence, its competence was considerably limited. The extention of the scope of this competence became possible only after the change of political regime. Like the inter-war Constitution of 1921, thus also the new Constitution adopted in 1997, demanded that the administrative courts be developed. This time the idea included in the demand was implemented. In 2002 the Seym of Polish Republic adopted suitable Statutes on administrative courts and specified the 1st January 2004 as the date of these Statutes becoming effective