Name of the institution : Supreme Administrative Court President : Mr. Janusz TRZCINSKI Address : Naczelny sad administracyiny UL Jasna 6 / 00-013 Warsaw POLAND Phone number : (48) (22) 827.60.31 (Court) (48) (22) 827.79.43 (Presidency) Fax : (48) (22) 827.66.87

Composition and structure

Number of members :
64

Recruitment procedures and incompatibilities :
The minimum age of the judges is 40, They must have exercised, during a period of at least 10 years, a legal profession. They are required to possess a high level of knowledge of the State administration, administrative law and the other fields of law applying to the activities of the State administration.
The candidates are appointed by the President of the Republic of Poland with the previous consent of the general assembly of the judges, which have to approve it, and of the National Judicial Council.

Internal organization :
The Supreme Administrative Court operates in Warsaw (three chambers). The Supreme Administrative Court comprises the President, the vice-presidents (who are the presidents of the chambers) and the judges. In the Supreme Administrative Court functions also The Chancellery of the President of the Court and the Judicial Decisions Office.
The President and the vice-presidents are appointed from among the judges of the court and dismissed by the President of the Republic, in both cases with the consent of the general assembly of the judges.
The general assembly is composed of all judges of the Court. The College of the Court is made up of judges elected by the general assembly.

Publications :
The Court publishes yearly report about the activity of the administrative courts and the problems they had met in their work, The Court publishes also an official collection of administrative courts' decisions. The most important decisions are also available on the Supreme Administrative Courts web site.

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Court functions

Jurisdiction :
All the administrative courts hand down decisions in cases involving the following challenges:

(1) administrative decisions;
(2) certain intermediary acts issued during administrative proceedings;
(3) decisions issued in executory proceedings subject to appeal;
(4) public administration acts or activities other than those specified in items 1-3 regarding the rights or obligations directly resulting from legal norms;
(5) such resolutions of commune authorities as constitute commune ordinances and such acts of local government administration bodies as have the force of regulations in local law; and
(6) supervisory acts over the activities of local government organs. In addition, the court hears complaints against the inactivity of administrative bodies in the cases specified in items 1-4.
The administrative courts review the actions of administrative bodies for their conformity with the law. The term "conformity with the law" here is broadly understood in juridical practice; it includes, among other things, the review of the interpretation of vague legal concepts on the part of administrative organs or the manner in which administrative discretion is exercised.

Organization of the courts system :
On 1 January 2004 came into force regulations reorganizing the administrative jurisdiction; the 25 July 2002 Law on administrative courts (Dz. U. Nr 153, 1269) and the 30 August 2002 Law on proceeding before administrative courts (Dz. U. Nr 153, 1270). Those regulations brought into effect the rule of two instances court proceedings concerning challenges against acts and activities of administrative bodies. The case will be examined in the first instance by the voivodship administrative courts. Decisions of those courts can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.

Powers of the judge :
Decisions of the voivodship administrative courts acknowledging the appropriateness of a challenge have an invalidating effect, i. e,, they overturn or pronounce invalid the challenged acts of administrative organs.
The Supreme Administrative Court verifies the legality of the decisions of the voivodship administrative courts with the possibility of repealing it and remitting it to the voivodship court if the decision is not deemed to be legally valid.
Only in very exceptional cases the administrative courts hand down a decision resolving a case on its merits.

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Advisory functions

Existence and extent of an advisory authority :
The Court, like the other supreme authorities, participates in the law making process by expressing its opinions on the legislative acts concerning, directly or indirectly, the Court's activities.

Miscellaneous remarks :

The Court may refer a question for a preliminary ruling to the Constitutional Tribunal.

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