Działalność samorządu radców prawnych i jego członków w zakresie realizacji ustawy o dostępie do informacji publicznej w świetle orzecznictwa sądowego
The Activity of the Professional Self-government of Legal Advisers and Its Members Regarding Application of the Access to Public Information Act in Light of Relevant Case Law

Summary/Abstract: The article presents a review of judicial decisions of administrative courts on the application of the Access to Public Information Act (API) to the professional self-government of legal advisers and its members. It analyses and discusses relevant case law on the scope of the application of the API and presents the evolution of the courts’ approach to this issue. The article begins with a short analysis of the API and demonstrates that the professional self-government of legal advisers falls within its scope. Subsequently, it discusses the distinct legal status of legal advisers employed by public authorities and the consequences thereof for the application of the API. Another broad issue considered in numerous judgments is the application of the API in disciplinary proceedings conducted by the self-government against its members. The article traces the evolution of case law from the denial of access to disciplinary decisions, to the provision of open access to those decisions. The other controversial subject obtaining in the case law concerns identifying the relevant body of the professional self-government authorized to grant access to disciplinary decisions. The latter part of the article presents and analyses further issues adjudicated by the courts in the context of the application of the API, i.e. the bar exam and the financing of the professional self-government of legal advisers. Last but not least, the article briefly discusses the spheres of the functioning of the self-government that are excluded from the application of the API. The author concludes the article with the general observation that presently the administrative courts tend to grant more API-based motions and that professional self-government of legal advisers should include API considerations in its functioning.

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