Justice for All? Economic Disadvantage and Trust in Poland’s Judicial System

Abstract

While there is a large international literature on trust in institutions, there is very little on trust in the judicial system, specifically. This literature is especially lacking in the context of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with its relatively recent institutionalization of democratic law. The association between demographics and political attitudes on one side of the equation, and trust in the judiciary on the other, is not well-established. This article uses the Polish Panel Survey, POLPAN, to answer the question, “to what extent does economic situation and political attitudes influence individual trust in Poland’s judicial system”? Results suggest a positive and substantial relationship between subjective social status and trust in the judicial system. Trust in other institutions—in this case, political parties and European Parliament—along with perceived influence of the government on corruption, also leads to increases in trust in the judicial system.