Magistrates of Zamość in 1917–1928

Abstract

The article presents the process of building Polish judiciary system of the lowest instance (magistrate courts in Zamość), but also the problems encountered in the staffing of magistrates in the first years of the reborn Polish State. The model of magistrate court, which appeared on 1 September 1917 with the launch of the royal-Polish judiciary system, survived until the court reform in 1929. During this period, the principle of appointing magistrates was maintained, although the March Constitution of 1921 indicated the principle of their election by the population. Initially, the positions of the magistrates of Zamość were held by people who had gained experience in the Russian magistrate judiciary in the Kingdom of Poland, as well as those who had returned from a civil war in Russia. Such staffing was a consequence of the existence of a small group of local lawyers, which, as a result of the Russian national policy pursued by the partitioner, lacked people prepared for judicial work. With time, when the staffing situation improved, inter alia, after the appearance of the first assessed court trainees, the position of magistrate became the first level for further legal career. In the analysed period, 6 Zamość magistrates became district judges in the courts of Lublin courts of appeal. Some of them remained for a short time as magistrates (especially deputies), waiting for a vacancy in the district court. The following presidents of the District Court in Zamość also began their careers as magistrates: Romuald Jaśkiewicz and Władysław Kozłowski. After leaving the service, two magistrates of Zamość were nominated for the positions of notaries, which was (in terms of income) an award of distinction from the Ministry of Justice.