Widłak Tomasz, Judges’ Virtues and Vices: Outline of a Research Agenda for Legal Theory

Judges are valued by the quality of their character. This statement is implicit in the wording of the relevant legal acts regulating the status of the judiciary in Poland and other civil law jurisdictions. For instance, the Law on the Organization of Common Courts in Poland demands, on top of other substantive requirements, that candidates for judges be of „impeccable character” . Yet, there seems to be a growing problem with the moral language being used in the public discourse about the judiciary, the role of judges, and their political position. In Poland, the language and arguments used in this debate have been particularly passionate and often laden with extreme emotions. Both at the level of the media and that of experts, statements concerning the moral qualities of particular judges and the judiciary as a whole often seem to be inconsistent and heavily influenced by a political assessment of judges’ individual statements, decisions or even particular actions. In the recent years...