POLISH JUDICATURE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A049000120001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 12, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 11, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
SUBJECT Polish Judicature DATE DISTR. 1L1 JIM
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
NO. PAGES
REFERENCES RD
REFERENCE P
report on the Polish Judicature. The
report includes information on the organization and duties of the Polish
Prosecution Authority; the duties of the Special Commission (Somisja Specjalna)
for combatting profiteering and corruption; the treatment of prisoners by the
security organs; and various personalities in the judicial system.
STATE RMY IN AV$ AIR
FBI
AEC
0
0
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1. The Ministry of Justice was established in 1914 with the forma-
tion of the Lublin Goverment. During the first few years of
its existence, its authority and scope of operations were rather
limitedt since the entire judicature was under military control.
Up to 191449, civilian courts had jurisdiction only over general
criminal offenses and over cases arising out of collaboration
with the Nazis. A special casnission (kamisja specjalna) had
been established in 19145, however, to countervail the little
trusted Prosecution Authority. At the time, the Prosecution
Authority was under the Ministry of Justice and had retained
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its prewar staff of persons loyal to the prewar regime. It
was the commission's task to combat black-marketeering and
corruption and, to invest the commission with authority,
Politburo member Roman Zambrowski was appointed its chairman.
Its directors, for all practical purposes, were Dr. dasinski
(fnu), and Kalinowski (fnu). The commission had branch offices
in every voivodship town; in the Wroclaw Voivodship it maintained
district branch offices as well. Though an independent body,
it worked in conjunction with the security forces and dealt
exclusively with profiteering and corruption. That the staff
of the commission was derived from the lower classes of the
population proved a detriment to its work, since its officials
could not resist the temptation of accepting bribes. Complex
personnel problems resulted when it became an easy task to
"buy off" the commission's staff. The commission was authorized
to punish offenders by the imposition of heavy fines and
sentences up to two years of forced labor. No consideration was
made, however, of the period of arrest prior to trial and, in
many instances, fines were converted to jail sentences. The
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period spent in prison, therefore, greatly exceeded the
maximum two-year sentence which the commission was authorized
to impose. The commission existed in this form until 1950.
2. In 1950, Polish Judicature underwent a reorganization. The
Prosecution Authority was separated from the Ministry and
established as an independent institution. Transferred to
the new Prosecution Authority were the special commission's
rights of interrogation. The remaining authority of the
commission - that of confiscating property and of imposing
forced labor sentences and fines - became subject to recommen-
dation, in each individual case, by the Prosecution Authority.
This represented a further debacle of the commission and, in
1954s it was officially abolished.
3. The years 1950 to 1955 were characterized by extreme juridical
abuse by the security and Party organizations and, through their
D
intervention in the administration of justice,,,- re successful
in subordinating the judicial system directly to them. Without
court order, the security organs carried out investigations of
current anti-Government activities, such as those of the Hoare
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Army, and of activities connected with prewar political
elements. The new judges and court presidents who were
appointed during this period, moreover, were completely
devoid of legal training and experience, the only criteria
for their appointment being their loyalty to the Party line
and their readiness to obey orders.
lt. It sometimes took years for the families of prisoners to
ascertain the prisoners' place of detention. When arrested -
and even during interrogation - the prisoner himself was not
informed of the nature of the charge against him. The security
officers usually attempted to induce the prisoner to confess
to actions which he himself considered justification for arrest.
The prisoner was coerced through blackmail, beatings, and
promises, to put down in writing his curriculum vita, including
his past thoughts, and to enumerate his own assumptions of the
reasons for his arrest and interrogation. In cases in which
the security services or the Party had a special interest,
pressure was exerted upon the court supervision department of
the Ministry of Justice - which in turn influenced the judge
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and the court president - to guarantee against any unexpected
turn in the trial. In all cases where the interrogation of
the accused was conducted by the security services, the
heaviest sentences were imposed, i.e. either death or life
imprisonment.
The organization of the Polish Prosecution Authority is such
like the general administrative setup of the country, with the
seat of the Prosecutor General's Office in Warsaw and branch
offices in the voivodships and districts. The Prosecutor
General's Office consists of the following:
as General Supervision Department (Department
Nadzoru Ogolnego), which reviews the legal
aspects of governmental administration and
the executive. The department has a complaint
office to which citizens may address their
grievances against the government offices.
b. Investigation Department (Department Sledczy),
which supervises the interrogation of defendants
following their preliminary questioning by the
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Militia. In some cases, the prosecutor
also directs the preliminary questioning.
A member of this department represents
the Prosecutor General in connection with
the interrogation of defendants before
the Supreme Court.
C* Courts Department (Department Sadowy),
which is in charge of the prosecutors who
appear in court.
d. Department for the Execution of Sentences
(Departament Wykonania Kary), which super-
vises the execution of sentences. It is
also authorized to suspend prison sentences,
to release prisoners before completion of
the sentence, and to recommend pardons.
The department has a pardoning office.
as Personnel Department (Department Kadrav).
f. Administrative Department (Department
Administracyjny).
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g. Presidential Department (Departament
Prezydjalny) which, in effect, is the
prosecutor general's office.
6. Originally, district and voivodehip prosecutors had to be Party
members and, until 1956, candidates for the post of district
prosecutors had to be approved by the voivodahip Party carmittee,
while voivodahip prosecutors were appointed directly by the
Party Central Committee. Since October 1956, however, Party
membership has not been a requisite, but the Party, through its
behind-the-scenes maneuvering, has nonetheless continued to
influence the appointments. District and voivodship Party
secretaries continue to take an active interest in the work
of the prosecutors, although open interference on their part
has become a thing of the past.
7. According to Polish law, the prosecutor is responsible for the
administration of justice to the letter and spirit of the law.
He is entitled to teat the legal validity of any administrative
directive and to oppose its enactment if he deems it contrary
to existing law. The prosecutor also has the duty to fight
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crime and to order arrests, and he may have a suspect arrested
for a period of up to six months without court order. In early
1957, a bill was being prepared to enable a detained person
to summon the prosecutor before the Supreme Court to account for
his prolonged arrest during investigation. The prosecutor can
also intervene in civil cases, such as those regarding alimomy
and property claims. In the interrogation of suspects and the
collection of evidence, the prosecution is assisted by the Militia
which, in fact, serves the prosecution as an instrument for the
eradication of crime. The link with the Militia, which is
subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MSW), is the
only existing connection between the prosecution and that Ministry.
8. Hardly aty political cases have been brought before the court since
October 1956. Espionage is tried by the military courts and
administrative retribution simply does not exist. In early 1957,
the Codification Commission (Komisja Kodyfikacyjna) was preparing
a proposal for the establishment of administrative courts where
citizens will be able to appeal the decisions taken by adminis-
trative organs. Formally, the courts are now independent bodies
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9.
which recognize no authority but their own. While they enjoy
practically no interference in court procedure, at the sale
time there are no effective safeguards against interference.
The following persons are reported:
a. Waclaw Barcikowaki, President of the Supreme
Court for eleven years until October 1956.
1956s
b. Jan Bednarzak, Director of the Courts Depart-
ment of the Prosecution Authority since late
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c. Andrzej Burda, Prosecutor General since
October 1956 (succeeding Rybicki),
d. Henryk Chmielewski, Director of the Depart-
Ministry of Internal Affairs since October
1956
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e. Michal Chigrin, a departmental director at
the Prosecutor General's Office since October
1956
f. Henryk Gadski, a private lawyer and an
official of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS),
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g. Maurycy Grudzinski, Director of the Section
for the Supervision of Courts at the Ministry
of Justice since October 1956,
h. Kazimierz Kaszkirko, Deputy Prosecutor
General since mid-1956,
i. Kazimierz Kukawka, Director of the Department
for the Execution of Sentences at the Prosecutor
General's Office since late 1956,
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J. Tomass Majewski, a member of the staff of the
General Prosecution since 1946, F
k. Marian Mazur, Deputy Prosecutor General since
1956,
1. Opussyneki (fm}, Chairman of the Criminal
Section of the Supreme Court since early 1958.
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in. Bronislawa Pazinska (female), former director
of a section of the Special Commission for
combatting profiteering and corruption (until
1954)
no Strumineki (fnu), Chairman of the Government
Price Commission since 195$
o. Boleslaw Walawaki, a private lawyer who was
formerly acting deputy director of the Special
Commission for combatting profiteering and
corruption.
p. Jan Wasil
mid-1956
Deputy Prosecutor General since
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