Implementation of the Collegiality Principle before the Court of Second Instance after the Amendment to the Civil Procedure Code of 7 July 2023

The principle of collegiality is one of the guiding principles of the justice system. It is assumed to ensure a higher standard of proceedings and thus increases the legitimacy of the judgment in public perception. By the Act of 7 July 2023 amending the Act – Civil Procedure Code and some other acts, it was adopted that the court of second instance adjudicates in a single-judge panel. The new regulations not only raise a lot of controversies, but also cause a number of interpretation problems. This article considers the essence of the principle of collegiality in second-instance proceedings and discusses the effects of the changes introduced by the amendment of 7 July 2023.