This year the Institute of Justice celebrates its 35th anniversary. On this occasion prof. Piotr Rylski, manager of the IWS, points out the key events in our history.
When we wondered at the Institute, which minute – this one, most crucial – should be considered crucial to our existence, we had a problem with choice. We felt it was worth mentioning two: actual and practical.
On 19 June 1990, Minister of Justice Aleksander Bentkowski issued a decree on the merger of the Institute of Judicial Law investigation with the Institute of Crime Issues.
The Institute of Justice was born from this merger. He formally started operations on 1 July 1990. This was, on the 1 hand, simpler due to the fact that the employees of the 2 merging institutes simply became IWS employees. On the another hand – specified connections are always complications and it is not consecutive from 2 organisms to make one.
The beginnings were hard. prof. Andrzej Czaszko, manager of the IWS from 1992 to 2015, said about the beginning of his activity: “I included the director’s function, to be honest, in an highly hard period for IWS. The atmosphere around the Institute was not good, so the management of the ministry, without seeing the greater benefits of our activities, demanded first of all that I fire more employees... For the first months of my office, I felt more liquidator than IWS director.”
And so we scope the second key moment, which was 1 conversation.
Judge Jadwiga Skórzewska-Łosiak held the position of Deputy Minister of Justice. She was liable for overseeing IWS. She asked Prof. Hi, 1 question: "Are you able to get the institute back on its feet?". Hi, there was no doubt, he said he was able to.
The Ministry trusted and the Institute proved that it was worth betting on us.
Self-glory is always a hazard of exaggeration, but over the years we have achieved a large deal on different levels.
In the HR layer – The Institute was the place of improvement of many later prominent Polish lawyers. We had judges from the ultimate Court, the Chief Administrative Court, the Constitutional Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and prosecutors from the National Prosecutor's Office. any experts advised the most crucial politicians to make sensible legislative changes.
We are arrogant of many publications. Among them is "Atlas of Crime in Poland", which we published for the first time in 1994, and we will shortly show another edition.
Our “Atlas” is not only a comprehensive origin of cognition about the functioning of criminal justice and the main trends in crime, but besides a origin of cognition for decision-makers. It is adequate to mention that the first edition – at the request of then Minister of Justice Vladimir Cimoszewicz – was made available to all Members and Senators as the basis for the parliamentary debate on the issue of national security.
We are besides arrogant that the Institute of Justice is present as it was dreamed of more than 35 years ago. Without forgetting the technological nature of the activity, we effort to deal practically with crucial issues. Our analysis is the starting point for many laws.
What is worth emphasising is the fact that many institutions and researchers examine the case law of the ultimate Court. We focus primarily on the case law of the general courts – we see the advantages in the activity of the judiciary, but we besides pay attention to the shortcomings erstwhile needed.
And although we are pleased with the past 35 years (although there have been periods better and worse), we hope that on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the IWS, our successors will be able to honestly compose that the second 35 years were even better than the first.
This is what we want everyone – you, yourself and the justice system.
