The Senate Committee on Human Rights, Rule of Law and Social Affairs and the Legislative Committee unanimously supported two draft bills prepared in the Ministry of Justice, without introducing any amendments. These documents aim to modernize the Polish justice system through the digitization of procedures and raising the standard of protection of the rights of persons participating in proceedings. After being approved by the committees, the bills will now go to a vote at the next plenary session of the Senate, where the upper chamber will make a final decision on their fate. The changes cover both the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Law on the Organization of Ordinary Courts.

The first of the projects concerns the amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Act on Electronic Service. The main goal of these provisions is to streamline and modernize the criminal procedure, with a special emphasis on the more widespread use of electronic means of communication and strengthening the privacy of witnesses and victims. A significant change will be the expansion of the scope of personal data subject to confidentiality in records. In addition to the existing address data, such as place of residence or work, in the address attachment, which is available only to the authority conducting the proceedings, will be included phone number, e-mail address, PESEL number, and identity document data. The Act also introduces clear rules regarding the waiver of such protection, which will require a written justification, e.g., in situations where the data are already publicly available or known to the defendant. The document also clarifies issues related to e-Services, defining the rules for giving consent to electronic service by non-public entities and methods for protecting these addresses. It is worth noting that the previous provisions will apply to records drawn up before the Act enters into force. The new regulations will enter into force after 14 days from the date of announcement in the Journal of Laws.

The second bill amends the Law on the Organization of Ordinary Courts, focusing on the digitization of court administration and ensuring the accessibility of courts for people with disabilities. A key element of this reform is the creation of a unified, nationwide IT system for maintaining lists of court experts. The presidents of regional courts will be obliged to transfer the existing data to this system. Thanks to this, ordinary courts, military courts, the prosecution, the IPN, and the Ministry of Justice will gain permanent, electronic access to the full data of experts, which is supposed to speed up the process of their appointment. At the same time, a public online search engine will be created, in which citizens will be able to check basic information about experts, such as first name, last name, specialization, or period of appointment. Contact data will be published only with the consent of the expert themselves. The Act also regulates data retention issues, stating that information about removed experts will be kept for 10 years from the beginning of the year following their removal. The presidents of regional courts have a 3-month deadline from the moment the Act enters into force to carry out this digitization and launch the search engine.

An important aspect of the new Act is also the guarantee of court accessibility for persons experiencing permanent or temporary communication difficulties. According to the provisions, these persons gain a statutory right to appear before the court using the form of communication of their choice. The Act guarantees them the free use of a sign language interpreter in court proceedings, which is intended to eliminate barriers to access to justice. Additionally, the Minister of Justice, in agreement with the minister for informatization, has been authorized to issue decrees defining security, performance, and minimum functionality standards for court IT systems. This is to ensure the consistency and uniformity of the digital infrastructure nationwide. Similar to the case of the amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Act on the Organization of Ordinary Courts will enter into force after 14 days from the date of announcement in the Journal of Laws.