Access to the Administrative Court During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Abstract

The aim of the article is to attempt to determine the limits of application of the provisions of Art. 15zzs⁴ section 3 of the Act of March 2, 2020 on special solutions related to the prevention, counteracting and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them, taking into account its subsequent amendments and assessment of the adopted solutions in the context of the principle of open court proceedings. The considerations carried out using the dogmatic-legal and historical method allowed us to determine that the provision of Art. 15zzs⁴ section 3 initially authorized the heads of departments in administrative courts to refer a case for consideration at a closed session without the need to obtain the consent of the parties and participants in the proceedings, often without checking the possibility of conducting the hearing remotely, which was perceived as a violation of the principle of openness. The argument for this solution was the need to protect human life and health. As a result of subsequent changes, there was a systematic return to the solutions known before the pandemic, and now the case may be referred for consideration at a closed session during the transitional period, provided that all parties and participants in the proceedings accept it.