Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-24
Every Russian Judge Fled.

nSSoiau SANS~
 Practically every Russian judge in Poland fled when Warsaw was evac- uated by the Russians and occupied by the Germans. The invaders therefore were confronted with pe- culiar situation in their efforts to es- tablish order, and the way the problem has been solved has been largely through the importation of German judges, and the appointment of Ger man lawyers who had been wounded in battle to judicial positions. Al most every Polish judge or lawyer who remained in the country declin- ed to fill the vacant positions for fear of punishment by the Russians if the latter should return.
 For centuries past Poland has had two kinds of judges, lay and prOfes- sional. The lay courts, handling small and Unimportant matters, were scat tered all over the kingdom and their sense rather than technicalities of the law. The professional judges were located almost exclusively in cities.
 Since the German occupation the number has at no time been entirely sufficient to handle all cases and 1t has been necessary to alter the exist ing law in some particulars. The right of appeal to a higher court has been restricted somewhat in order to prevent congestion, and "a master in
 
 tighten the work of higher justices.
 The Warsaw Trade Tribunal was created as a sort of supreme court for civil matters and placed in charge of two judges who rule on all important cases and appeals for the entire king dom. As assistance, the services of a number of expert civilians were en- listed who hear evidence just as mas ters do, and then report to the jus tices.
 With few exceptions the Napoleonic laws, especially those governing civil matters, commerce, marriage, parent age, inheritance and so forth, have l been retained, and the imported Ger man judges rule accordingly. The | principal exception concerns debt pro | cedures, which constituted one of the most difficult of the legal problems which the Germans found themselves | confronted with.
 Napoleonic, and hence Russian, law, | provides that in case of a debt action, | notary with two witnesses must go | to the debtor, take his statement and | rule against him when the evidence warrants and payment is refused. 1 The exigencies of the war, however, | long before the arrival of the Ger mans, had altered the system. The | notary no longer went personally to the debtor, and sent but one witness, merely because witnesses were scarce, and the notaries were to busy to be able to spare the time.
 The Germans. therefore. were con- fronted with the alternative of con- I doning this breach of law, and becom- l ing party to it, or of changing the law. The latter course was adopted | and the German system applied in debt matters was introduced.
 | Up to the time of the arrival of the Germans 8 moratorium had existed The conquerers decided very quickly | hoA h oryt1 afPa .%s
 than good, and raised it almost al
 once. This step was easily decided upon since existing Polish law gives
 all judges the power to grant indi- vidua1 moratoriums when they seen to be necessary. With the abolition
 of the moratorium in Poland wide.
 spread evil-the lodging ofs5ust deb
 by men we'll able to pay-was done away with.
 The criminal law in effect in Poland
 had for years been looked upon as st
 anticipated and archaic that the Rus
 sian government, in 1903, recodifiet
 the statutes. The revised laws, how, ever, for one reason and another 1 never had gone into effect. After con
 sultation with Polish legal authorities
 the Germans at once made the recodi fled statutes effective.
 |, For a century, the prevailing lang uage in country courts in Poland ha been Polish and in the higher courts | The IaCIeT language n8I
 disappeared almost entirely from tn entire kingdom. as much 1t Is declare, because of any ruling of the con . Querers.
 !, The Germans ordained that Polisi
 and German should become the off
 cial court language, with, however, tn
 additional provision that cases shoul be conducted in that language il which principals were best versed. Il consequence almost every suit, civi or criminal, is carried on in Polish ITha GAc1nan judges who haEa hAa,