Studia Iuridica Lublinensia (Dec 2021)
Some Comments on the Adherence to the Time Limit to File an Electoral Protest Submitted by a Voter Staying Abroad, Based on the Polish Electoral Code: Commentary on the Decision of the Polish Supreme Court of 31 August 2020 (I NSW 5920/20, LEX no. 3045999)
Abstract
Convincing the voters that a given voting process to elect their representatives has been conducted correctly and that this election corresponds to the will expressed in the act of voting promotes growing trust in the state and its agencies and is conducive to the shaping of civil society. For this reason, it is very important to check the very voting process, and this verification is the responsibility of state judicial bodies. Electoral protest is the basic legal means of ensuring judicial review of the correctness and validity of elections. The right to file it, considered a constitutional subjective right, is also provided for by all generally applicable regulations on elections. The commentary discusses the issue of adherence to the time limit to file an electoral protest submitted by a voter staying abroad, as regulated by the provisions of the Polish Electoral Code. The decision of the Supreme Court of 31 August 2020 (NSW 5920/20), issued in connection with the holding of the general election for the President of the Republic of Poland announced in 2020 with the possibility of voting by mail, is the basis for the consideration of the issue. The author also attempts to answer whether the currently applicable solution containing a different rule of determining if the time limit for carrying out a specific action (lodging an election protest), as provided for in the special regulation, i.e. the Act of 2 June 2020 on special rules for the holding of general election for the President of the Republic of Poland ordered in 2020 with the possibility of voting by mail, and also the general regulation, i.e. the Act of 5 January 2011 – Electoral Code, provides an eligible voter with a possibility to actually exercise his/her right to file a protest against the validity of the election of the President of the Republic of Poland.
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