Małgorzata Manowska Judicial management of evidence hearing before a court of first instance: Polish system vs Belgian system

4/2020

JUDICIAL MANAGEMENT OF EVIDENCE HEARING BEFORE A COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE: POLISH SYSTEM VS BELGIAN SYSTEM

MAŁGORZATA MANOWSKA *

DOI: 10.26399/iusnovum.v14.4.2020.35/m.manowska

1. POLISH CIVIL PROCEDURE**

The essence of a lawsuit consists in uncovering the truth and resolving a dispute. The establishment of an actual basis is a focal point of a process (non-trial proceedings) around which all activities of a court and parties concentrate. It results from the fact that the application of substantive law makes sense only when the course of events causing a dispute is properly determined. The essence of the principle of truth that must be stuck to in civil proceedings consists in such development of procedural rules which will allow finding out the actual course of events that is the underlying cause of a dispute. Proper construction of actual grounds for a judgment requires going through a few processes.

Firstly, parties should report facts and evidence to support their statements and refute the statements of their opponents.

Secondly, it is necessary to select facts and evidence from the point of view of their significance for adjudication, admissibility and purposefulness, and next hear the selected evidence.

Thirdly, it is necessary to evaluate the evidence and logically analyse the facts that result therefrom (taking into account life experience) in order to confirm the truthfulness of the parties’ statements.

* PhD hab., Professor of Lazarski University in Warsaw, Department of Civil Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of Lazarski University, First President of the Supreme Court; e-mail: mmanowska1@wp.pl; ORCID: 0000-0002-1516-5604 ** The foregoing contribution is the outcome of the research fellowship at the University of Antwerp in 2019.