Theoretical Problems of the Application of Law by the Polish Suprere Court Decisions

The statute on the Supreme Court (further abbreviation: „SC”) singles out the institutional place and the functions of the SC (1984). The provisions of the statute in question characterize the SC as the supreme organ of the Polish administration of justice. The SC is also a court and, therefore, the theoretical assertions concerning the judicial application of law and expressed in constructed theoretical models of this activity are relevant for any analysis of the SC decisions. T he author outlines the model in question and discusses the particularities of the functions of the SC in respect to this model. The SC application of law can be analyzed from the descriptive, theoretical and normative (postulative) point of view. The author presents three groups of problems. Firstly, the author presents the features of the so-called hard cases and demonstrates that is type of cases is dominant in the SC decisions. Deciding the hard cases the SC has a relevant role in the uniformization of the administration of justice. This function is somewhat restricted by the existence of differences between various benches of the SC deciding the same case. Secondly, the SC plays an important role in precizing the axiology of the Polish law and of its application. The theoretical analysis demonstrates the palace of values in judicial decisions. Thirdly, the SC functions according to the ideology of legal and rational decision ane controls an implementation of the values of legality and rationality in the administration of justice. The author presents several arguments used by the SC stressing the interaction of the arguments of authority and of the arguments of reason.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę