The access to justice gap and the rule of law crisis in Poland

Abstract

Summary The article discusses selected problems of access to justice in Poland as an important context for the rule of law crisis since 2015. The difficulties in formally addressing justiciable problems were illustrated by the findings of empirical studies conducted in 2015 and 2018. The article argues that having experienced obstacles in addressing their justiciable issues, Polish society has developed what can be termed a highly rational stance towards the legal system, which can be expected to contribute to its reluctance to actively oppose the sweeping reforms of the judiciary introduced by populists. Understanding the effects of inaccessibility of justice combined with insufficient options to resolve justiciable problems outside of the law and legal institutions is an important addition to the prevailing politics- and culture-centred approaches to understanding of the long-standing multifaceted conflict around the judiciary in Poland.