The Organization and Functioning of the Polish Civic Court in London Cover Image

Organizacja i funkcjonowanie polskiego Sądu Obywatelskiego w Londynie
The Organization and Functioning of the Polish Civic Court in London

Author(s): Karol Siemaszko
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, History of Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Polish jurisdiction in exile; government in exile; emigration

Summary/Abstract: The Civic Court in London was brought into existence on the strength of a Presidential decree of 8 September 1950 concerning Civic Courts in Exile. It consisted of a General and a Civic Department. Its main objective was to adjudicate on matters relating to acts that were reprehensible from the point of view of the Polish political exiles, but at the same time indifferent in the light of the British law. The most active period in the operation of the Polish Civic Court in London occurred in the years 1951–1954, that is at a time when it was headed by Stanisław Krause. After the rupture within the Polish émigré circles, the London court remained a presidential organ, although a considerable number of its judges moved to the faction grouped around the Polish Council of Three. This had led to the organizational decline of the court and ultimately to is practical liquidation in the first half of the sixties.

  • Issue Year: 7/2014
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 369-381
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish