The Right to a Lawful Judge under the Protection of the Supreme Court or How to Interpret the First Ground of Appeal?
Abstract
The paper deals with the issue of the right to a lawful judge in criminal proceedings. In particular, it answers the question of the extent to which the right to a lawful judge is protected in criminal appeal proceedings, in other words, it focuses on the interpretation of the first ground of appeal set out in Article 265b of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The paper thoroughly contradicts the arguments of the traditional approach of criminal courts and prosecutors to this issue, according to which the right to a lawful judge is examined primarily (or only) on the so-called organisational aspect and the specific composition of the trial chamber (or a specific judge) does not matter. Recently, as a result of repeated constitutional complaints by defence lawyers, there has been a change in the practice of the Supreme Court, so it seems that better times are on the horizon and the constitutional right of the accused to a lawful judge will be protected already in the appeal proceedings.
Another positive effect is that courts are paying more attention to work schedules, which contain rules ensuring respect for the right to a lawful judge.