Wojskowy Sąd Rejonowy w Katowicach (1946—1955)
Military District Court in Katowice (1946—1955)

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns the organisation and functioning of the Military District Court in Katowice between 1946 and 1955. The court constituted one of the fourteen military district courts in Poland which, due to their scope of activity, had been located outside of the military judicial system as delineated by the law on military courts system. The initial intention behind this division was to ensure that district courts would be able to serve as a tool for the communist government in their fight with political opposition, who questioned the political and economic system as well as the legitimacy of the communist rule. District courts were established primarily in order to rule in the cases of civilian persons falling under the jurisdiction of military courts on the basis of special provisions. The article discusses the structure of the Military District Court in Katowice as well as its subjective and local properties. A longer section of the article focuses on the members of staff as well as analysis of criminal cases presented before the court between 1946 and 1955, paying particular attention to those instances in which the ruling involved the capital punishment.

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