Zasady procesowe w Formula processus iudiciarii: prawo i praktyka w XVI-XVII wieku
Principles of court procedure in Formula processus iudiciarii: Law and legal practice in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

Summary/Abstract: The Formula processus iudiciarii, adopted by the Diet in 1523, was a reform court procedure in the law of the Polish nobility. Although the term 'principle of court procedure' is a modern one, it may be applied to analyse provisions of this act. Doing so allows us to better understand the origins and evolution of the civil process. Despite the different legal, social, and economic frameworks, many of the aims of the sixteenth-century legislator remain relevant today: creating a court procedure that would guarantee the parties' procedural rights, while also seeking to improve and expedite the existing process. The article analyses the text of the act in the light of present-day procedural rules, taking into account the old legal literature and legal practice as well. It concludes that the Formula processus iudiciarii aimed to reduce procedural formalism and to introduce an appeal, which established the principle of reviewing judgments. While maintaining principles of publicity and adversarial litigation, it also reduced the inequality between the parties. Moreover, the degree to which these principles were developed may be regarded as distinctive of the Polish process in the European context. These efforts indicate the existence of certain more universal frameworks within noble society, which sought a model of the fair conduct of court trials. In legal practice, however, the trial became more formalised than had originally been intended, and the development of various appellate measures led to abuse of the law. Hence the procedure reformed by the Formula processus iudiciarii may be described as a fair trial only in part. While capturing the process through principles can be useful, it is equally important to consider the limitations of such an approach. A full understanding of the old Polish civil process therefore requires further research focusing on local practices of applying the Formula processus.

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