Pursuant to the Act of 5 August 2015 on Consultative Teams of Judicial Specialists, consultative teams of court specialists, hereinafter referred to as 'teams’, operate in regional courts, whose task is to prepare, at the request of the court or the public prosecutor, opinions in family and guardianship cases and in juvenile cases, on the basis of psychological, pedagogical or medical examinations carried out. On behalf of the court, the teams also conduct mediations, conduct community interviews in juvenile cases and conduct specialist counseling for minors, minors and their families. The teams can cooperate with institutions enforcing court decisions.
The team consists of specialists in psychology, pedagogy, paediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. The specialist is independent. The president of the regional court may not give instructions to specialists to perform activities in which they are independent.
The team prepares opinions for courts and prosecutors in the area of jurisdiction of the regional court in which it operates, and in particularly justified cases it may prepare opinions for courts and prosecutors outside its area of jurisdiction. In particularly justified cases, the area of competence of the panel may be a part of the area of jurisdiction of the regional court.
In cases concerning the removal of a person subject to parental authority or custody pending under the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, done in The Hague on 25 October 1980 (Journal of Laws of 1995, item 528 and of 1999, item 1085), opinions are drawn up immediately.