Important information on the participation of the public and media in open sessions or hearings before the Supreme Court in referendum and election cases.
As a general rule, in referendum and election cases, the Supreme Court adjudicates in closed sessions, but the Presiding Judge may refer the case to an open session or a hearing.
Admission to the courtroom
Persons who intend to attend as a member of the public at a hearing or an open session in referendum and election cases held in the Supreme Court building:
- notify the intention by e-mail to BiuroPrasoweSN@sn.pl or by telephone +48 22 530 82 13 at least one working day before the date of the hearing or open session,
- the application must indicate the file reference number of the case in which the hearing or open session has been scheduled and its date.
The Secretariat of the First Division of the Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs Chamber of the Supreme Court, based on the information from the collected applications, prepares admission cards for entry to the courtroom. The allocation of entry cards is determined by the order of applications received (first-come, first-served), and they are issued at the Service Desk for the Public in the Supreme Court building in Warsaw at pl. Krasińskich 2/4/6, office 0N39, from Monday to Friday 8.30-15.30.
Recording of an open session or a hearing
The parties and participants in the proceedings shall notify the court of their intention to record the proceedings by means of a sound recording device. No permission of the court is required for the parties or participants in the proceedings to record the proceedings at which they are present by means of a sound recording device. However, the court shall prohibit a party or a participant in the proceedings from recording the proceedings by means of a sound recording device if the session or a part of it is held in camera, or the regularity of the proceedings is contrary to this.
The public, including representatives of the media, may ask the court for permission to record images and sound or sound. Such consent will be granted unless the parties to the proceedings oppose it and the performance of such activities hinders the conduct of the hearing or session.
Recording the announcement of a judgment
Recording of the announcement of a judgment by the parties, the participants in the proceedings and the public is admissible if the interested person notifies the court in advance and if the performance of such activities does not hinder the announcement of the judgment.