SPIS TREŚCI / CONTENTS / ЗМІСТ

The article examines the concept and legal aspects of creating a special international tribunal regarding the crime of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Although this research topic first emerged after the events of 2014 related to the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, scientific interest in the study of this problem increased after the criminal full-scale invasion of Russia on the territory of the sovereign state of Ukraine. The author considers the evolution of creation of select military tribunals, the specifics of their activities, and the established practice of prosecuting the crimes of aggression. Additionally, the analysis focuses on statements regarding the idea of creating a special international tribunal for the Russian Federation for crimes of aggression against Ukraine. It is substantiated that the highest form of international justice in the modern world is a tribunal, as it provides for a public and inevitable punishment and it acts as one of the elements guaranteeing the inviolability of the international legal order at the same time. The creation of a special tribunal for the Russian Federation will be the impetus for new approaches to expand the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court so that it can prosecute acts of aggression, and Ukraine will serve as an example for responding to aggression. The author determined, the establishment of an international tribunal for the first time is a complex process because it is often necessary to find new and completely original solutions to many legal and practical problems facing the tribunal. Moreover, the sum total of these decisions should provide the basis for a reasonable and universally applicable jurisdiction for future generations, at the same time allowing the tribunal to take into account the social, cultural and historical context of the conflict in question and to reflect this context to some extent in its decisions and practice.

Consequences of a full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war for the positioning of the «Three Seas Initiative» in global politics

The article discusses the term “Three Seas Initiative” – a product of the adaptation of the philosophical and geographical category “Intermarium” to the description of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The thesis is substantiated that the application of the category “Intermarium” to Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe is due not only to the “mental geography” of Polish political thought and the practical needs of Polish geopolitics of the 20th and 21st centuries but also to the objectively existing general characteristics of the region (its buffer status between geopolitical powers of Germany and Russia, the lower level of prosperity of this region compared to Western Europe, its predominantly Slavic character, which repeatedly pushes the implementation of pan-Slavist projects in the Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the trends in social, in particular, cultural, economic and political, which are observed at least since the late 1980s). It is argued that the project “Three Seas Initiative” by A. Duda is a modern reincarnation of the idea of the Prometheists – “Intermarium”, created between the two world wars on the basis of the Jagiellonian idea of the Early Modern Age. This project arose as an opposition of rightwing conservative, poorer EU members to its left-liberal, rich participants with external support from the Eurosceptic, right-wing populist government of D. Trump in the USA. However, the evolution of the Three Seas Initiative finally led it to institutionalization as one of the cores of integration in the modern European Union at different speeds, with an emphasis on the development of cross-border communication and infrastructure projects in the region with the cooperation of the EU and the USA. It is emphasized that after the start of the Russian- Ukrainian war, the threat of its spread to the territory of the “Three Seas Initiative”, which the EU cannot overcome, forces the members of the initiative to seek direct military support from the United States in exchange for Washington’s support in its opposition to Beijing, an ally of Moscow. “Three Seas Initiative” could be perceived as an activation of the role of the region as one of the outposts of opposition to Chinese influence on the planet. In addition, the Russian- Ukrainian war involuntarily led to the achievement of one of the goals of the Three Seas Initiative - the development of the logistics infrastructure of its participants, due to the need to serve large-scale land and air movements of troops and the functioning of “grain” and humanitarian corridors from the European Union to Ukraine. Also, a full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war caused the resuscitation and development of the military-industrial complex of the Three Seas Initiative countries, its integration within the region and the rest of the EU, as well as with Ukraine, the USA, and South Korea, which gives a chance for high-tech economic growth of the participants of the project.

Today, information and communication technologies are widely used in all spheres of public life; state policy is gradually gaining publicity and social accessibility; it becomes possible for society to actively participate in globalization policies and processes; the digitalization of public services is globalized and covers the whole world, which indicates a netocratic vector of development of modern society. Given the pace of development of globalized e-democracy and the world’s efforts for socio-economic recovery, it is necessary to update the priorities of digital governance in order to increase trust in governments and state institutions, and for this it is necessary to create effective legislation that determines the possibility of forming a perfect governance system and regulatory state policy in the field of e-democracy. The article considers domestic legislative acts designed to regulate and streamline management processes in the conditions of netocracy of society, to ensure their consistency, stability, balance (laws of Ukraine: «On Information », «On Information Protection in Information and Communication Systems», «On the National Informatization Program», «On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management», «On Electronic Digital Signature», «On Electronic Trust Services», «On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individuals – Enterprises and Public Formations», «On telecommunications», «On the licensing system in the field of economic activity», «On the Fundamentals of the Development of the Information Society in Ukraine for 2007–2015», «On the Protection of Personal Data», etc.). An analysis of the indicated domestic legislative framework indicates a quantitative growth and improvement of regulatory documents covering the digital spheres of public administration. It has been established that the issue of harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with world legal norms remains important.

Assistance of Polish cities with county rights provided to Ukrainian international cooperation partners during the period of Russian aggression. The example of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship

The aim of the research is to verify the admissibility of granting financial and material aid to territorial units from Ukraine by Polish cities with poviat rights. Consideration was also given to the state and scale of cooperation between cities with county rights (i.e. Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek) from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship and their partners from Ukraine during the period of Russian aggression. The paper uses the method of content analysis, in addition, own research was carried out involving local governments from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and the results are presented. The results of the research in this paper proved that there is a legal possibility on the basis of the Act on local self-government (at the same time bearing in mind the provisions of the Act on public finances) to provide financial support from one’s own budget in the form of financial aid and in-kind support in the form of aid in kind to “local and regional communities” in Ukraine, including during the period of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In addition, the article found that all surveyed Polish local governments implemented international cooperation focused on humanitarian aid to Ukrainian partners. The article is original in nature and was devoted entirely to the issue of international cooperation during the period of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The real system of government in Poland after the country’s accession to the European Union

The subject of research presented in the article is the system of government in Poland. The considerations concern the relationship between the normative solutions defined in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 and the influence of the EU on the modification of political solutions in Poland. It was hypothesized that after Poland’s accession to the EU, the system of government in Poland changed in terms of political practice. It has been shown that functioning in the EU resulted in a departure from the characteristic rationalization of the system of government and bringing it closer to the parliamentary model. The prediction presents possible further directions of modification of the system of governance depending on the evolution of the EU. The research was based on the following methods: institutional-legal, systemic and comparative.

“Self-governing Republic” – the ideological signpost of “Solidarity”

In the autumn of 1981, the 1st National Congress of Delegates of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity” took place, which democratically elected its authorities and adopted a modern program. The program covered all areas of life. Its basis was supposed to be workers’ self-government. The gradual implementation of the program was to lead to the democratization of the system through free elections at the regional and then national level. The introduction of martial law made it impossible to start reforms and delayed the political transformation. During the system change in 1989, during the Round Table talks, some of the provisions contained in the “Solidarity” program were used. We can acknowledge that the 1st National Congress of Solidarity Delegates played a role in the process of political and social transformation in Poland. Further implementation of the postulates was possible in a democratic system.

The purpose of the publication is to study the state and peculiarities of teaching European studies for students of technical specialties in higher educational institutions of Ukraine, mainly on the example of Lviv Polytechnic National University (hereinafter LPNU), where the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Chair project “European Studies for Technical Specialties” (hereinafter EUSTS) has been implemented since September 2022. The hypothesis of the presented research is the statement that with the strengthening of the European integration course of Ukraine the demand for knowledge about the European Union and the European integration of Ukraine among students of technical specialties is increasing, and university education is ready to satisfy such a request, applying the latest methods and approaches in the organization of education. The main focus is on clarifying the peculiarities of the formation of European studies in Ukraine; including not only classical, but also technical universities in this process; search for effective mechanisms for implementing knowledge about the EU into the educational process of students of technical specialties. To achieve the specified goals, a number of research methods were used, such as: historical-comparative, periodization, analysis of empirical data, systemic and structural-functional. It has been found that the development of European studies in Ukraine has gone through several stages of its formation. The first lasted from the moment Ukraine regained its state independence in 1991 and was characterized by the presence of limited opportunities in universities to introduce European studies in the conditions of a centralized higher education system. The second stage was marked by the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” (2014), which, in fact, provided sufficient tools for the development of European studies in Ukrainian universities. Similarly, at that time, the study of the European Union and European integration was formed at Lviv Polytechnic National University, including for students of technical specialties. On the basis of statistical data, it has been concluded that among the students of the National Academy of Sciences, there is a growing interest in the study of academic disciplines related to the EU and the European integration course of Ukraine. To a large extent, this is explained by the current political status of Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership and the strengthening of Ukrainian society’s support for the process of European integration as a result of Russian aggression. Accordingly, a number of educational disciplines have been introduced for students of technical specialties at the level of LPNU in recent years, which form knowledge about the EU and European integration, but only thanks to the implementation of international projects here, mainly the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet programs. This creates prerequisites for the fact that, in the future, separate educational programs in European studies can be developed at the university, which are most expedient to implement at the second (master’s) and third (PhD) educational levels. It is important that they focus on those policies of the EU and European integration directions of Ukraine that are of particular interest to students of technical specialties, for example, EU digital policy, EU energy policy, EU policy in the field of climate, environmental protection, etc. The acquired competences will not only allow the graduates of LPNU to implement European standards and values in their professional activities, but also to more effectively use the EU toolkit in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Also, taking into account the recommendations of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ukraine and the political situation of the state, it is worth introducing a mandatory educational discipline for all students of technical specialties of Ukrainian universities on the topic of the European Union, its principles, foundations and values, as well as the features of Ukraine’s European integration progress in various areas.

This article explores the phenomenon of elections as a political chronotope, a spatio-temporal realm where the mechanisms of democracy unfold. Its aim is to elucidate the unique socio-political nature of elections. The author establishes that the spatial and temporal characteristics define the format and regulations governing electoral interactions. The term «chronotope» is understood as an interdisciplinary concept that captures the essential connections between temporal and spatial features within a specific order of phenomena. Although extensive research has focused on the social, technical, and psychological aspects of expressing one›s will, the ontology of elections, which encompasses the comprehension of the «unity of time and place of action» and the involvement of political actors in the electoral scenario, has been largely overlooked. Additionally, this study concentrates on the concept of the electoral situation, which delineates the synchronous and diachronic connections wherein citizens’ political choices are positioned, realized, and interpreted. The notion of the electoral situation can be correlated with the term «political landscape», which is only partially related to actual geography but predominantly pertains to the comprehensive conditions of an electoral competition (the coordinate system) and the participants involved in this process. The article’s author illustrates how the electoral situation constructs synchronous and diachronic connections at various levels of political interaction. Notably, these connections are facilitated by political mythologems, which serve as unifying and integrative factors within the electoral chronotope. By examining these mythologems, the author highlights their role in shaping the narrative and symbolism surrounding elections, ultimately influencing the dynamics and outcomes of the electoral process. Overall, this article delves into the intricate relationship between elections and the spatio-temporal framework in which they occur. By emphasizing the significance of the electoral situation and its connection to the broader political landscape, the author sheds light on the multifaceted nature of electoral processes, enriching our understanding of democracy’s fundamental mechanisms.