The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Civil Development Forum Foundation and the research and advisory firm Komitywa.com. have jointly prepared a report on the usefulness of Polish courts’ websites for citizens. The authors of this report write: ‘If someone wishes to see what Poland’s Internet looked like ten years ago, he/she can easily move back in time by browsing through the internet news bulletins of Polish courts’.(13-JUN-08)
Written by: Agnieszka Chmielecka/ HRH Warsaw
Source: report, Gazeta Wyborcza
The report assesses that the courts’ internet news services are not necessarily a useful tool for citizens seeking information or legal assistance. The authors emphasis that despite the fact that most of the web pages provide information e.g. about legal costs, at the same time the form in which this is presented is not very user-friendly and limited merely to citing the contents of legal acts. The visual (graphic) and technical aspects of these services also require improvement. There are also problems associated with introducing recent news – e.g. only 2 out of 11 courts of appeal have Internet calendars of causes. News from the courts’ operation is not provided.
Extreme cases
The news service of the Court of Appeal in Lodz only has three pages. One of them is only accessible after logging-in, another one merely presents a used car advertisement. The website of the Regional Court in Kalisz contains hidden advertisements of Viagra, free pornography and illegal MP3s. ‘Although these ad links are not visible to visitors, they are however accessible through Internet search engines’ – write the authors of the report.
Will one common website be created?
Lukasz Bojarski – the coordinator of the ‘Access to Justice’ program at the HFHR, consultant responsible for the contents of the report: ‘The system of justice as a whole should have one, transparent, legible and easy to use website. It should be rich in various civil information, contain examples of written statements of claim or defense, etc. Information about particular courts should also be part of this portal. A good legal news service should indicate where a person can turn for legal assistance – for a specific fee or cost-free, and should contain recent news concerning the court’s operation, as well as reports about crucial and important verdicts’.
In response to this report, the Ministry of Justice, which is supposed to coordinate this undertaking, stated that in the nearest future however it is very unlikely that such an internet portal will be created. At this time this is not a priority task for the Ministry.
