The issue of the participation of the social factor in the administration of justice has definitely experienced a renaissance in recent years. Only a dozen or so years ago it seemed that the only acceptable form of citizens' participation in the judiciary was lay judges, now the possibility of restoring the institution of justices of the peace is seriously considered. In the history of the judiciary in Poland, in different periods and in different areas, basically all forms of public participation in the administration of justice were known; in addition to those mentioned above, also courts of assizes and direct election of judges by the citizens. The article concerns the participation of the social factor in the judiciary until its unification on the basis of the Act – Law on the System of Common Courts of 1928, but focuses more on the reasons for the introduction of the social factor as such and its various varieties. As a side note, the author leaves detailed factual findings regarding the nature of non-professional courts in particular epochs (as these have recently been the subject of at least several studies).