The Principle of Formalism and Communication in the Courtroom. In Pursuit of Judicial Discourse

Abstract

Communication in the courtroom is determined largely by the procedure. This paper refers to the degree of formalization of the rules of court proceedings and its impact on the judicial discourse. The Polish civil trial has become a starting point of the discussion. The litigation is a life situation regulated by law which is determined by “living words” spoken at the trial. Therefore it is important to give it the appropriate framework through reasonable legislation. The procedure limits the number of solutions of the discourse in the courtroom, but on the other hand the procedure allows to achieve discourse. By defining the form, time and place of legal acts, the principle of formalism allows to embody the right to a fair trial. Therefore it is quite a challenge for the legislature to create and continuously improve the procedure which would guarantee effective communication in pursuit of judicial discourse.