The Principle of Citizens’ Participation in Criminal Trials and Legitimization of the Justice System

Keywords: citizens’ participation in criminal justice, deliberative democracy, principle of social participation, criminal process and citizens

English abstract: This article deals with the principle of social factor participation in criminal proceedings. In particular, the directival approach to this principle is emphasized, and in that sense, the article seeks to argue about its interpretative role in interpreting the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP). The analysis covers subjective, substantive and temporal scope of the principle of social participation in criminal proceedings. First of all, the concept of sensu stricto, sensu largo and sensu largissimo approaches to the principle of social participation in the criminal trial are distinguished. However, the sensu stricto perspective includes the exercising by citizens of a judicial function in trials, currently carried out in ordinary courts in the form of the participation of lay judges in the panel; the sensu largo approach also includes the implementation of other procedural roles by citizens than the judicial function, while the sensu largissimo aspect approach incorporates participation of non-individualized citizens as audience of the court hearings, as well as implementation of the denunciation function in the criminal trial. The detailed considerations concern implementation of the judicial function. In this respect, Article 28 of the CCP is interpreted, the main research question being whether the participation of the social factor in criminal proceedings under the law in force authorizes the criminal justice system.

Language: Polish

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