Collegiality and Dissent in Polish Administrative Courts

Exploring Judicial Interactions

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46282/blr.2024.8.1.741

Keywords:

Dissent, Dissenting Opinion, Collegiality, Judges, Judicial Independence, Law and Emotions

Abstract

This article addresses a gap in existing research by focusing on the often-neglected realm of judicial interactions and internal dynamics within specific courts concerning the phenomenon of votum separatum. We examine the forms and practices of collegiality within Polish administrative courts and their influence on judges' decisions to file dissenting opinions. Additionally, we investigate the reactions of fellow judges when a dissent is announced.

Our qualitative research methodology relies on in-depth interviews to prevent the imposition of predefined categories. Participants were encouraged to recount their experiences related to composing or participating in decisions involving dissenting opinions. This approach led to the emergence of categories related to collegiality, its functions, and inherent tensions.

Our findings reveal that collegiality manifests in various forms beyond panel deliberations. Notably, our research uncovers the existence of departmental meetings in provincial administrative courts where issues addressed in dissenting opinions are discussed. Furthermore, judges' perspectives indicate that the most common scenario leading to dissenting opinions arises when judges from different panels reach opposing decisions. This dilemma prompts judges to choose between adhering to the initial panel's decision or voting for a divergent position proposed by the second panel.

Finally, our observations within courtrooms highlight that the ideal of the dispassionate judge does not exclude subtle expressions of surprise or disappointment. These findings enrich our understanding of judicial interactions, shedding light on the complexities of collegiality and dissent within the context of Polish administrative courts.

Author Biography

Maciej Wojciechowski, University of Gdańsk

Faculty of Law and Administration
ul. Jana Bażyńskiego 6
80-309 Gdańsk; Poland.
maciej.wojciechowski@ug.edu.pl

References

Anleu, S. R. and Mack, K. (2021). Judging and Emotion. Socio-Legal Analysis. New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180045

Brace, P. and Hall, M. (1993). Integrated Models of Judicial Dissents. The Journal of Politics, 55(4), 914–935, https://doi.org/10.2307/2131942

Bratoszewski, J. (1973). Zdanie odrębne w procesie karnym (pol) [A Dissenting Opinion in Criminal Trial]. Warszawa: Powszechne Wydawnictwo Naukowe [Common Scientific Publishing House].

Brennan, W. (1985). In Defence of Dissents. Hasting Law Journal, 37, 427–438. Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol37/iss3/1 (accessed on 18.04.2024).

Coleman, J. and Leiter, B. (1993). Determinacy, Objectivity, and Authority. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 142(2), 549–637, https://doi.org/10.2307/3312546

Cross, F. B. and Tiller, E. H. (2008). Understanding Collegiality on the Court. University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, 10(2), 257–272. Available at: https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jcl/vol10/iss2/1 (accessed on 18.04.2024).

Davis, W. A. (2010). The Causal Theory of Action. In: O'Connor, T., Sandis, C. (ed.). (2010). A Companion to the Philosophy of Action (pp. 129-138). West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444323528

Donald, B. B. (2019). Judicial Independence, Collegiality, and the Problem of Dissent in Multi-member Courts. New York University Law Review, 94, 317–339.

Dworkin, R. (1975). Hard Cases. The Harvard Law Review. vol. 88, 1057-1109, https://doi.org/10.2307/1340249

Edwards, H. T. (2003). The Effects of Collegiality on Judicial Decision Making. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 151(5), 1639–1690, https://doi.org/10.2307/3313001

Epstein, L., Landes, W. and Posner, R. (2011). Why and when judges dissent: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Journal of Legal Analysis, 3(1), 101–137, https://doi.org/10.1093/jla/3.1.101

Fuld, S. (1962). The Voices of Dissent. Columbia Law Review, 62(6), 923–929, https://doi.org/10.2307/1120794

Ginsburg, R. (1990). Remarks on Writing Separately. Washington Law Review, 65(1), 133–150.

Ginsburg, R. (2010). The Role of Dissenting Opinion. Minnesota Law Review, 95(1), 1–8.

Habermas, J. (1984). Theory of Communicative Action. Volume One: Reason and Rationalization of Society. Boston: Beacon Press.

Henderson, M.T. (2007). From seriatim to consensus and back again: A theory of dissent. The Supreme Court Review, 2007(1), 283–344, https://doi.org/10.1086/655172

Hettinger, V., Lindquist, S. and Martinek, W. (2003). Separate opinion writing on the United States Court of Appeal. American Politics Research, 31(3), 215–250, https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673x03251196

Hobbes, T. (1651/1997). Leviathan or the Matter, Forme, & Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civill. London: Andrew Crooke, at the Green Dragon in St. Pauls Churchyard (Prepared for the McMaster University Archive of the History of Economic Thought, by Rod Hay).

Holmes, O. W. (1897). The Path of Law. Harvard Law Review, 10(8), 457–478, https://doi.org/10.2307/1322028

Jaremba, U. and Mak, E. (2014). Interviewing judges in transitional context. Law and Method, 2014(2), 1–15, https://doi.org/10.5553/rem/.000003

Kaufmann, J. (2007). L’Entretien comprehensif. Paris: Armand Colin; [Kaufmann, J. (2010). Wywiad rozumiejący. Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa (Polish edition)].

Kelemen, K. (2013). Dissenting Opinions in Constitutional Courts. German Law Review, 14(8), 1345–1371, https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200002297

Kissent, J. (2011). Dissent in Organizations. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Laffranque, J. (2003). Dissenting Opinion and Judicial Independence. Juridica International, (8), 162–172.

Lynch, A. (2016). Great American Dissents. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lubet, S. (1998). Judicial Discipline and Judicial Independence. Law and Contemporary Problems, 61(3), 59-74, https://doi.org/10.2307/1192416

MacFarlane, E. (2010). Consensus and Unanimity at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Court Law Review, 5 (2d), 380–410.

Maroney, T. (2012). Angry Judges. Vanderbilt Law Review, 65(5), 1205–1286.

Maroney, T. and Gross, J. J. (2014). The Ideal of the Dispassionate Judge: An Emotion Regulation Perspective. Emotion Review, 6(2), 142–151, https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073913491989

Mendenhall, A. (2017). Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Pragmatism, And the Jurisprudence of Agon. Aesthetic Dissent and the Common Law. London: Bucknell University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/704540

Nadelman, K. H. (1959). The Judicial Dissent: Publication v. Secrecy. The American Journal of Comparative Law, 8(4), 415–432, https://doi.org/10.2307/837689

O'Connor, T. (2010). Reasons and Causes. In: O'Connor, T. and Sandis, C. (ed.), A Companion to the Philosophy of Action. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing, 129–138, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444323528

Pierce, J. L. (2002). Interviewing Australia’s Senior Judiciary. Australian Journal of Political Science, 37(1), 131–142, https://doi.org/10.1080/13603100220119056

Posner, R. (2010). How Judges Think. Cambridge, London: Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674033832

Rescher, N. (1966), Aspects of Action. In: Rescher, N. (ed.), The Logic of Decision and Action. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Segal, J. and Spaeth, H. (2002). The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511615696

Songer, D.R., Davis, S. and Haire, S. (1994). A Reappraisal of Diversification in the Federal Courts: Gender Effects in the Courts of Appeals. The Journal of Politics, 56(2), 425–439, https://doi.org/10.2307/2132146

Songer, D., Szmer, J. and Johnson, S. (2011). Explaining Dissent on the Supreme Court of Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 44(2), 389–409, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0008423911000151

Tacha, D. (1995). The C Word: On collegiality. Ohio State Law Journal, 56(2), 585–592, http://hdl.handle.net/1811/64731

Downloads

Published

07-07-2024

How to Cite

Wojciechowski, M. (2024). Collegiality and Dissent in Polish Administrative Courts: Exploring Judicial Interactions. Bratislava Law Review, 8(1), 49–66. https://doi.org/10.46282/blr.2024.8.1.741

Funding data