Psychika sędziego zależnego. Uwagi o etycznym statusie sędziów w autorytarnej Polsce (1929–1939)
The Psyche of the Dependent Judge: Remarks on the Ethical Status of Judges in Authoritarian Poland (1929–1939)

Summary/Abstract: The study advances the thesis that a correlation existed between two phenomena: the establishment of an authoritarian political system in interwar Poland and the emergence of a specific psychological disposition among judges of that period, referred to—following Aleksander Mogilnicki— as the “mentality of the dependent judge.” The research aimed to determine the nature of this relationship in both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. The analysis encompassed both the normative and practical factors that defined the ethical status of judges in authoritarian Poland between 1929 and 1939. The findings indicate that the prevailing conditions produced two typical, dominant, and co-occurring attitudes among judges. The first was passivity and withdrawal; the second—activity combined with an affirmation of authoritarianism. It was established that the judge’s psychological dependence within an authoritarian system constituted an objective condition resulting from external factors that could not be resisted without jeopardizing one’s professional career. In line with Mogilnicki’s view, it was further acknowledged that such psychological dependence could manifest in an atypical form—through a breach of the duty of impartiality motivated by a desire to demonstrate independence.

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