In recent years, Armenia and Georgia have carried out constitutional reforms bringing about a radical change in their respective political systems with a shift to a parliamentary model of government. To permanently democratize both countries, the role of presidents in political systems was weakened and their election was introduced indirectly. The paper discusses the main elements of presidential electoral law in both countries with their main similarities and differences. In Armenia, the president is elected by the parliament, while in Georgia by a special electoral body. The following paper argues that the constitutional reforms in both countries are intended to prevent crises of power caused by an excessive concentration of power in the hands of presidents, although the reforms do not provide a guarantee of genuine democratisation and authoritarstability of governments. The possible outcomes of the reforms can be different: in Armenia – the increase of the dependence of the president on the main political parties, in Georgia – strengthening his independence.

Dualism of Executive Power in the Third Polish Republic – Constitutional Regulations and Political Practice

The aim of the article is a critical analysis of the rationalized parliamentary system established in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland with the strengthened position of both bodies of the dualistic executive. The study presents the regulations increasing the political role of the President and the government (prime minister) as well as the conditions and political effects of the adopted system. The premise of the article is to highlight the dysfunctionality of the constittional model of the executive and the practice of its implementation.

The Issue of Supplementing the Ratification Act with Additional Content (art. 89 of the Polish Constitution)

The authors point to arguments of legal interpretation of the Constitution that would justify the possibility of including additional provisions in the statute agreeing to ratify the international agreement (Article 89(1) of the Polish Constitution). A condition for such an extension would be the direct link between the additional content and the implementation of the international agreement and the possibility of adopting additional content in the ordinary legislative procedure. Such provisions could not violate the provisions of the Polish Constitution. The authors also point to non-legal arguments that could justify such action by the legislature in a particular situation. However, they favour the uniqueness of such a solution and its embedding in a specific systemic context.

On the Need to Reform the Mechanisms of Accountability for Violations of the Rules of Ethics of Deputies

Considering the poor standards of public life, the existence and functioning of the Deputies’ Ethics Committee constitute essential elements of the Polish parliamentarism. Although not the only one, the principal task of the Deputies’ Ethics Committee is to react to the actions of deputies that violate the rules of ethics of deputies adopted in 1997. After more than 20 years of the Committee’s operation, we can identify areas where there are noticeable dysfunctions, e.g. the composition of the Committee, the mechanism of imposing penalties and their type. With the 2018 amendment to the Standing Orders of the Sejm, a new mechanism was also introduced to hold deputies accountable for actions violating ethical standards occurring during sessions of the chamber as well as on the premises under the authority of the Chancellery of the Sejm, effectively allowing us to speak of a duality of accountability.

Legal Question to the Constitutional Tribunal. Expectations and Directions of Changes

This study is devoted to the analysis of the provision of Article 193 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which authorizes each court to submit a legal question to the Polish constitutional court about the compliance of a normative act with the Constitution, ratified international treaties or the act, if the answer to a legal question depends on the resolution of a case pending before the court. It is worth considering the expectations and directions of changes of the analyzed institution against the background of the applicable legal provisions. The practice of applying a legal question to the Constitutional Tribunal needs to be examined. During these more than thirty-five years, the constitutional measure has undergone some transformations. The main goal of this work is to assess the title legal question through the prism of over three decades of its operation.

The Role of Consuls in the Organization of Elections Held Abroad (Comments Against the Background of Elections for the President of the Republic of Poland in 2020)

The purpose of this article is to analyze the tasks assigned to consuls in the course of organizing the election of the President of the Republic of Poland abroad. There is no doubt that the Polish legislator has entrusted the consuls with the role of the actual organizers of elections held abroad, which entails a significant responsibility these entities. The study also examines the supervision over the performance of tasks by consuls in the field of the organization of elections. In this range, it should be noted that there is a significant difference, consisting in the delegation of supervisory tasks over the performance of electoral activities by consuls to the minister competent for foreign affairs, with a significant limitation of the powers of the NEC, which is, after all, the main body supervising compliance with the electoral law. In these considerations, mainly the formal and legal method was used.

Impact of Changes in the Electoral System in 2018 on the Political Position of Presidential Parties in Municipalities over 20,000 Inhabitants

The aim of the paper is to assess the impact of changes introduced in 2018 to the electoral system used in elections of the councils of municipals over 20,000 inhabitants on the political position of the parties backing selected mayors and presidents of cities. This research perspective is justified by the special role of these groups resulting from the system of the commune, in particular the method of election and irrevocability of the executive, that is forced to try to gain control over the decision-making process in the council. The study used the Shapley-Shubik strength index as that reflects the actual strength of a political party in a collegiate body better than the number of seats or participation in a mandate set. The results of the survey confirmed that the analyzed change weakened the position of the presidential parties in most of the analyzed aspects.

The Principle of Secret Voting in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Possibility of Implementing Popular Voting with the Use of E-voting Based on Blockchain Technology

The principle of secret voting is one of the basic elements of the Polish electoral system. Its character does not raise many doubts in the literature on the subject. It seems, however, that secrecy of voting may be one of the main challenges in the context of plans to implement Internet voting in universal suffrage. Many scientists place their hope in blockchain. It is a technology that ensures high security. On the basis of this article, I consider whether blockchain – due to its characteristics – can be used in Poland as a technology enabling voting via the Internet. I pay particular attention to the principle of secret voting, which may be difficult to implement with the use of this solution.

On the Concept of the Electoral Treshold in Elections to Municipal Councils

The barrier clause is an institution of special importance in the context of the proportional system. The aim of this article is to present and evaluate the course of parliamentary work accompanying the transformation of the concept of the prohibition clause in the elections to municipal councils in 1990–2018. The research carried out on the basis of the formal-dogmatic method allows us to assume that the position of the dominant political forces on the application and level of the election threshold in local elections was characterized by considerable variability, showing connections with the lack of a clearly crystallized view on the shape of the electoral system in the strict sense of the organs constituting the basic level of local government.

Levellers and Universal Manhood Suffrage During the Putney Dabates (1647)

This is a review article. Its purpose is to present the findings of researchers on the English Levellers’ attitude to universal manhood suffrage, especially during the Putney Debates (1647). This issue is not clear and the dispute of researchers has been going on since the 1960s. The aim of the article is to present the findings on this issue contained in the important English studies on Levellers. The article presents the results of research that allows to answer the questions: whether the Levellers really supported the universal manhood suffrage, or were they therefore unconditional democrats? and why despite the success achieved during the Putney Debates the electoral reform proposed by them did not gain broad support.

Justice of the Peace Courts and the Right to the Protection of the Law – a Voice in the Discussion

The article discusses the demand for the introduction the institution of the justice of the peace into the Polish judicial system. The aim of the article is to examine the admissibility of this change as intended by the Ministry of Justice from the perspective of the right to legal protection. The author presents the advantages and disadvantages of justices of the peace, placing particular emphasis on the postulate of legal education of candidates for justices of the peace, as well as mentioning the proper way of selecting and financing them. He concludes that the requirement of a legal education or basic legal knowledge of candidates for justices of the peace is essential, as is the need to ensure the appointment that guarantees their greatest judical independence. In another case, the parties will not have adequate legal protection. In his research, the author uses the dogmatic method.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Citizens’ Rights and Freedoms to Organize Assemblies

The article focuses on the freedom of citizens to organize assemblies during the COVID- 19 pandemic in Poland. The provisions of the Acts and the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of March 19, 2021 on the establishment of certain restrictions, orders and bans in connection with the occurrence of the epidemic, prohibiting or limiting the organization of assemblies during a pandemic in terms of the existence of pro-liberation or anti-freedom tendencies, were analyzed. The presented article is an attempt to consider the constitutionality of the provisions in force in this area. The law may become a tool of lawlessness, and it should be noted that the participation of citizens in assemblies is sometimes the only opportunity to express their views and one of the basic standards characterizing a democratic state ruled by law.

Importance of the Case-Law of the German Federal Constitutional Court for the Case-Law of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal

The aim of this article was to find an answer to the question about the role played by the case-law of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in the case-law of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, and to the question about the sort of cases heard by the CT, in which references to the FCC case-law occurred most often. An attempt to answer the above-mentioned questions were asked after empirical research. The judgments of the CT, publicly available on the Online Judgment Portal on the website of the CT, served as empirical material. In the case-law of the CT, it was not clearly indicated whether, in the case of referring by the CT to the case-law of the FCC, the Tribunal did it for comparative purposes, whether it was related to the interpretation of legal norms by the CT or for another purpose.

The Political Position of the President in the Parliamentary and Semi-presidential Systems in the Light of the Lithuanian Constitutions of 1922 and 1992

This article aims to analyze the political position of the president in the parliamentary systems of interwar Lithuania and the semi-presidential system of modern Lithuania. The analysis covers the regulations of Lithuanian constitutions of 1922 and 1992. The article assesses the most important legal provisions concerning the political position of the head of state. The subject of the analysis is still relevant, as Lithuania, like during the first independence period, adopted the same political system, restoring its pre-war solutions (including reactivating the institution of the head of state). Identifying the differences and similarities in the systemic position of the institution of the head of state in the light of the Lithuanian basic laws seems to be an issue worth scientific research.

Constitutional Reform in Kyrgyzstan. Challenges and Threats to Democracy and the Rule of Law

The collapse of the USSR in 1991 led to the emergence of five independent states in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. Four of them established an authoritarian form of government, while Kyrgyzstan became the only democratic state in the region. This may change after the referendum on constitutional reform, which is scheduled for 2021. The amendments to the Constitution provide for the extension of the president’s powers, which, according to many Kyrgyz researchers, may lead to the transformation of Kyrgyzstan into an authoritarian state. This article presents the results of the analysis of the draft amendment to the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic initiated by the new president of the country, Sadyr Japarov.

Normative Guarantees of the Freedom of Association in Political Parties in Kazakhstan

The subject of the study is the problem of freedom of association in political parties in Kazakhstan from the normative perspective. The analysis of national regulations concerning the guarantee of political pluralism and determining the principles for the creation and operation of political parties in Kazakhstan indicates for series transgressions and contradictions with international obligations accepted by them at the area freedom of association. The current law on political parties in this country contains very restrictive provisions. It lacks provisions that would guarantee the access of political parties to the mass media and the free organization of meetings and demonstrations. The law also prohibits the creation of religious, national and ethnic political parties.

Italian Migration Policy

Italy, due to it is geographical location, is extremely exposed to migratory movements. Over the past few decades, the Republic has undergone a far-reaching transformation from sending to receiving country. A country in which a migration policy practically did not exist had to build it from scratch quite quickly, which was associated with many of its disadvantages, reformed over time. A breakthrough moment was the migration crisis initiated in 2011 and caused by the Arab Spring in North Africa. It was a real test not only for the Italian migration policy, but in retrospect also for the entire European Union, where, unfortunately, there was no enough solidarity.

Protection of the Rights of Ethnic Minorities in Finland. Sami Case

The cultural autonomy of the Indigenous Sami Region within Finland is an example of autonomous status, based on the criterion of ethnic, linguistic and cultural distinctiveness of the indigenous Sami people living in the Northern territories of the state. It aims to protect their fundamental rights and freedoms and their own cultural heritage, including the endangered Sami languages. The aim of this study is the legal analysis of the cultural autonomy status of the Indigenous Sami Region self-government. The subject of the study includes the exegesis of the provisions of the Finnish Basic Law of 1999 and the relevant statute, as well as the practice of the region functioning within the state.

Policy of Poland Towards Development of the International Refugee Protection System in Light of the Polish Constitutional Framework

The article aims at exploring the relationship between constitutional framework regulating conduct of Polish public authorities on the international fora and the observed actions of these authorities with regards to international endeavour to enhance the functioning of the international refugee protection system. The dogmatic approach has been applied in order to examine scope and content of relevant norms pertaining to the problem in question. Moreover, findings of political science were utilized to establish some of the motives as well as consequences of the said actions of the government and to confront them with relevant constitutional norms. Position of Polish national authorities towards development of international refugee protection system has been appraised in light of the Constitution. The Author expresses a conviction that, in light of the said position, the values expressly affirmed by the Constitution are not accounted for in a satisfactory degree.

The Idea of Human Dignity as a Justification of the Right to the Environment

The problem of environmental protection is perhaps the most important challenge facing man today. On the legal level, this issue is expressed, inter alia, in the discussion on recognition of the right to the environment. This problem is widely discussed and poses a challenge both in the field of international and constitutional law. The work presents the key regulations of both international environmental law and the constitutions of various countries. This allowed for the recognition of the role and significance of the concept of the dignity of the individual, which, underpinning the international system of human rights protection, also plays an important role in environmental regulations. The thesis was formulated that, despite many doubts, the dignity of the individual stands for the idea that combines environmental protection issues with the concept of human rights.

Evolution of Health Rights in the European Union in the Prism of Human Rights

As an economic and political union of states, the European Union has historically focused neither on health nor on human rights. Since the adoption of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the link between fundamental rights and human health has been noticeable. Respect for human dignity and individual decisions played an important role in the evolution of the understanding of the right to health as a human right in the EU legal system. The aim of the article is to analyze the development of health rights in EU law and answer the question: does recognizing the right to health as a human right result in a specific legal claim? The article uses a purposeful-functional and axiological interpretation, and the historical method.

Laws Matter – Alon Harel Concept of Constitutional Obligation to Criminalize

The article will present the concepts of the Israeli philosopher Alon Harel relating to the issue of non-instrumental justification of law, including criminal law. An important aspect of Harel’s considerations is the obligation to criminalize acts that violate fundamental rights and freedoms. This duty should be expressed in the constitution, symmetrically to the content of constitutional rights and freedoms. The background to the considerations is the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 22 October 2020 issued in case K 1/20. The article will outline the line of argumentation (following Alon Harel) in favor of the recognition that regardless of socio-ethical or philosophical issues, the Tribunal’s decision was necessary for the good not only of individual individuals, but also of the legal system.

Violations of the Constitutional Guidelines of the Civil Service

The article presents the issues of post-constitutional legislative practice, in part concerning the law of the civil service. In the author’s opinion, the Polish Constitution of 1997 sets a solid basis for the functioning of the civil service corps and clearly defines the principles and goals of its functioning (which are: professional, reliable, impartial and politically neutral performance of state tasks). The review of the legislation after 1997 and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal was presented at intervals determined by the next civil service law pragmatics. The collected examples of violations of the provisions of the Constitution (in the analyzed time and area) allowed for the formulation of conclusions on the nature and practical significance of civil service law. General assessment is that polish civil service law construction (in accordance with the Constitution) is a difficult task, still unrealized in the law Polish.

Gloss to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of February 24, 2021 (SK 39/19)

The gloss criticizes the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of February 24, 2021 (SK 39/19) which stated that Art. 1a § 1 point 3 of the Act of 12 January 1991 on local taxes and duties, understood in the way that the connection of the land, building or non-building structure with the conduct of economic activity is determined solely by the possession of land, building or non-building structure by the entrepreneur or other entity conducting economic activity, is inconsistent with Art. 64 sec. 1 in connection with Art. 31 sec. 3 and Art. 84 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

Gloss to the judgment of the District Court of April 27, 2021 (II W 63/21)

The current Code of Petty Offenses entered into force in a different legal and socio-economic reality. It does not correspond to contemporary realities, its interpretation requires care, due to the necessity to consider the current Polish Constitution. Article 63a of the Code protects against behavior that violates the aesthetics of public space. Such behavior may not be punished when it does not violate public order, as it constitutes a form of exercising individual the freedom of expression.

Aesthetics, Stability and Functionality as Premises in the Process of Creating and Changing the Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The author analyzed the premises that would justify changes to the constitution. Prerequisites such as aesthetics, stability and functionality are at the center of attention. Based on the experience of the Polish political system after 2015, the author stated that the pursuit of the aesthetics of the constitution, in the form of its brevity and general character of the norms, is still relevant, but it cannot be a decisive premise. It is much more important to strive for the precision of norms in order to ensure the functionality of the constitution as the main stabilizer of the system. These experiences teach that the application of the constitution cannot be presumed in good faith, and all its essential provisions should be tested to the extent that they can be interpreted in bad faith, e.g. by creating a field for circumventing the constitution.

On the Need to Amend the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997 with Regard to the Term and Functions of the Sejm and the Senate – Some Remarks on the Background of the Constitution of Czechia and Slovakia

The scope of this article is to show the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 with regard to the term and functions of the Sejm and the Senate in Poland. The analysis shows that the provisions of the constitutions of Czechia and Slovakia are more precise, among other things, they more clearly define the parliament’s creative function in relation to the organs of the judicial power. Moreover, the Czech regulation concerning the Senate allows it to strengthen its political significance and position in relation to the first chamber of parliament, i.a. because of its greater role in the legislative procedure. In turn, the provisions contained in the Slovak Constitution protect the parliament against omissions of the head of state. These regulations should serve as a model for amending the Polish basic law.

Implementation of the Principle of Open Proceedings Before Administrative Courts During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

The introduction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus epidemic on March 20, 2020 resulted in changes in the functioning of the Polish administrative judiciary in the field of examining administrative court cases. The solutions provided for in Art. 15 zzs4 of the Covid act provide for the possibility of conducting a court-administrative hearing in a differentiated mode with the consent of the party to the proceedings. Moreover, the powers of the head of the division in the field of hearing cases in administrative courts are significantly modified. At the same time, it should be noted that the provision of Art. 182 p.p.s.a. relating to the examination of cassation complaints by the Supreme Administrative Court. The threat to human health and life caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus made it necessary to adapt the functioning of administrative courts to the changed reality in such a way as not to eliminate the threat to the parties to the proceedings by introducing the possibility of holding a hearing in a place or hearing the case in closed session. The solution enabling the parties to participate in a remote hearing affects the implementation of the principle of open proceedings.

Should the Polish Constitution be Changed During a Pandemic - Contribution to the Discussion

In this speech I will present the role and importance of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland in maintaining certainty and stability of the law and system. Considerations in this regard will serve to verify the thesis that the duration of a pandemic is not appropriate for making changes. Then, the arguments justifying the thesis will be presented, based, on the one hand, on the history and reality of the extraordinary situation that occurs - the pandemic, and on the other hand, based on the legislative experience from the period of the ongoing pandemic. Their examination will allow to highlight the doubts related to the amendment of the Basic Law in a specific, extraordinary time - the period of the pandemic, and the shortcomings of the legislative mode, which was used by the legislature during the pandemic.

Pandemic Challenges Versus Changes in the Law and System Practice Selected European Countries

The article presents the changes that have taken place in the laws and systemic practice of states as a result of counteracting the crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The author, pointing to pandemic challenges as well as actions taken by governments of states belonging to the Council of Europe, pointed out that the peculiar bluntness of changes could be most noticed in the construction and implementation of regulations on states of emergency. On the other hand, the issue of modifying the constitution was approached more carefully.

This article is the result of the scientific meeting organized by the KUL, in June 2021, concerning the topic of the constitutional identity. One of the intriguing problems in constitutional law is just the problem of constitutional identity. Constitutional Identity has three functions. The most important consistent that identity determines the “core” or “nucleus” of each constitution. The answer to radical question “what is the preambule to the Polish Constitution for?” should be that it mostly serves to express constitutional identity. This the basic function of this part of the Polish Constitution. Above all, constitutional identity “emerges” from national identity. Both identities are connected with each other in the preambule of the Polish Constitution.

Constitutional change is inherently a significant social and political event which, given the assumed stability of the constitutional order in the state, should not happen too often. A significant effect of any change to the constitution should therefore be its systemic usefulness in the longer term - corresponding to the concept of the durability of constitutional change. The aim of this article is to present the theoretical determinants of this change from the perspective of its assumed durability, taking into account the circumstances related not only to the constitutionally formalized mode of amending the constitution, but also taking into account other systemic factors, i.e. mainly social, political and legal conditions of the functioning of a given constitution. As a result of the adopted research assumptions, the analysis carried out here is characterized by a functional approach and concerns the following detailed issues: the theoretical characteristics of constitutional change and the theoretical determinants of this change in the context of its assumed durability.

The aim of the publication is to present the key issues regarding legal forms of restrictions on freedoms and rights (especially freedom of movement) without the simultaneous introduction of one of the constitutional states of emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Republic of Poland and their assessment in terms of compliance with the Constitution. An important issue is the restriction of freedom of movement by the executive without proper authorization by statute. Despite the lack of the authorization in question, the Minister of Health introduced a ban on movement under the provisions of the executive act, which is contrary to Art. 92 sec. 1 of the Polish Constitution2, pursuant to which the bodies indicated in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland are authorized to issue the ordinance on the basis of statutory delegation. Moreover, in the light of Art. 31 sec. 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, restrictions on the exercise of constitutional freedoms and rights, including the right to move (Art. 52 of the Polish Constitution), may be established only by statute, therefore the regulation of the matter in question by means of a sub-statutory act, without proper authorization in the provisions of the act, violated a number of provisions of the Constitution, which means that in the event of failure to observe the statutory form for restrictions on freedoms and rights, it must lead to the disqualification of a given regulation as being contrary to Art. 31 sec. 3 of the Polish Constitution.

The article analyses the Italian Government’s response to the recent Covid-19 pandemic and, more precisely, the centralization of decisions and the consequent marginalization of Parliament and Regions. The author assesses the compatibility of the governmental emergency measures with the Italian Constitution (which does not expressly regulate the “state of emergency”) and with the principle of proportionality, in order to verify whether the compression of some fundamental rights and constitutional competencies was justified by the contingent crisis.

The Finnish Basic Law is rigid and may be amended only by a special procedure. Following the Nordic tradition, this matter has been treated as a peculiar case of changing ordinary laws. It consists in deferral of the bill in the second reading until the first parliamentary session of the next term of office after the elections. The aim of the study is to determine the degree of adaptation of the Basic Law of Finland to the systemic reality in connection with the state’s participation in the processes of the European integration.

In Western legal traditions, democracy is inseparable from the rule of law, which presupposes the state to establish an effective and transparent judicial system that guarantees human rights and freedoms. The involvement of Lay Participation in the administration of justice (lay judges (mixed tribunal) or justices of the peace (magistrates) is one of the instruments for achieving this objective. The constitutions of the fourteen EU Member States, including Poland, oblige some Lay Participation in the administration of justice. However, the formulations of the norms in the constitutions, establishing Lay Participation in the administration of justice, differ. Based on the analysis of the Polish case, the article focuses on the question whether it would be sufficient to establish a relevant general provision in the Constitution, leaving the specification (form and extent of Lay Participation) to the legislator. The case of Poland has shown that the legislator can, without amending the Constitution, introduce other forms of Lay Participation (such as justices of the peace) or/and extend the extent of Lay Participation to judicial disciplinary cases when they are elected by the legislature; however, this poses a threat to the rule of law in Poland. Therefore, the article aims at discussing the impact of the Polish constitutional regulation of the Lay Participation on the violation of the rule of law.

“We the People of Chile” Procedure for the Adoption of the New Constitution of the Republic of Chile

In this article, the author analyzes the process of adopting the new Chilean constitution. The adoption of changes in the sphere of the system, which allowed the establishment of the constitutional convention, was an expression of a compromise between the authorities and participants of social protests in 2019.The new basic law is to replace an act, the democratic nature of which is questionable, dating back to the dictatorship of A. Pinochet. Importantly, a significant role of the collective subject of sovereignty in the constitutional process was envisaged. In a referendum, it is the people who decide not only about the need to adopt the constitution, but also about the manner of its procedure and its final approval. It is worth noting the appreciation of the role of indigenous peoples in the legislative process, as well as pro-equality mechanisms. However, the final assessment of the effectiveness of the adopted procedure will be possible only after the entire process is completed and the Constitution of the Republic of Chile enters into force.

The Constitutional Principle of Proportionality in the Choice of the Size of the Constituency and the Method of Distributing Seats. Simulation of Changes in Parameters in the Elections to the Polish Sejm

The aim of this article is to, on the basis of the case study of Polish elections to the Sejm, answer the question of which factor has a greater impact on the increase in the proportionality of the electoral system - the minimization of the number of constituencies or the change in the method. In order to do it, the Authors specified the results of six elections to the Sejm in the years 2005-2019 and the value of the proportionality index in two simulation versions. In the first one, the number of constituencies was limited from 41 to 16. In the second, the method of determining the result was changed from D’Hondt into modified Sainte Lague. The results were relatively surprising.

Neuralink - Coercion or Possibility? State’s Attitude to “Improvements” on the Example of Neural Implants

The development of technology such as neural chips prompts reflection on the state’s attitude to such and similar improvements, taking into account the legal possibilities of influencing citizens. The basis for considerations is the taxonomy of G.Cohen’s improvements and the standards of limiting rights and freedoms expressed in the ECtHR and the Polish Constitution. The aim of the article is to answer the following research question: do constitutional norms allow for the obligatory use of neural chips by citizens? The analysis was carried out both for the general public and selected social groups.The effect of the analysis has an impact on the future perception of the relationship between the state and the individual in connection with social changes resulting from the development of technology. The key to the presented and future considerations related to the place of improvement in the legal system is its impact on positional or absolute goods.

Protection of an Individual Legal Interest as the Basis for an Individual’s Legitimacy to File a Complaint with the Provincial Administrative Court

The entity entitled to bring a complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court is anyone with a legal interest in this. The mere fact of submitting a complaint based on an individual’s individual legal interest results in an obligation on the part of the Provincial Administrative Court to examine the interest of the complainant. If the court, during the examination, does not find a connection between the action or action complained about and the interests of the complainant, it will be forced to disregard the complaint, which will result in its dismissal. The analyzed article expresses a very important principle known as the right to a fair trial. This is a consequence of the rule that only the court is the body that ultimately decides about the freedoms, rights and obligations of an individual. The right of an individual to assert his rights before a competent, independent, impartial and independent court.

Pressure of the Law Associations in the Process of Law-Making on the Rules of Access to Legal Services in Poland in 2014-2020

The article attempts to assess the lobbying activity of the Polish law associations. The study sought to identify the scale and method of their possible impact on the legislation. The convergence of the public and private interests was assessed in the field of law on legal services and legal aid as enacted in 2014-2020. It was assumed that these interests would be contradictory, which turned out to be false in half of the cases examined. On the other hand, the assumption about the influence of the law associations on the new legislation on legal services was positively verified. The hypothesis stating that their influence is considerable was refuted, as most of the analyzed acts were in line primarily with the common good, and less so with the interests of lawyers. The involvement in the lobbying of the law associations, as well as its effectiveness, turned out to be moderate. In half of the cases, wider access to legal services was associated with a reduction in the privileges of lawyers.

Constitutional Protection of the Rights of the Elderly in Social Welfare - Assumptions Versus Implementation

The ageing of the population and the reduction of the caring potential of families result in an increased demand for caring services provided by institutions of the social assistance sector for elderly dependent persons. The article aims to present and evaluate constitutional regulations, supplemented by statutory regulations on the protection of rights of the elderly, especially in the area of institutional support, i.e. social welfare homes, and to identify barriers that prevent obtaining individual benefits. The article analyses legal acts, jurisprudence and statistical data concerning the provision of care services in the community and stationary form. Although the discussed political regulations secure the rights of the elderly in the field of social assistance, there is a noticeable lack of precise regulations, which were included in acts of a lower rank.

The subject of the article is references to the truth in the constitutions of modern states. The comparative study shows multiplicity of contexts in which the category of truth is mentioned in several dozen fundamental laws. The mention of truth in the constitutions as a component of the axiology of the legal and social order, the basis of transitional justice or the principle of court and administrative proceedings should be assessed positively. However, making the truth a limit of freedom of speech raises serious reservations. Granting constitutional protection only to truthful statements can stifle the public debate on socially prominent issues. The conducted analysis does not confirm the thesis of political liberalism that the truth is irrelevant for law and politics.

The article analyzes the concept of illiberal democracy exemplified by two case studies of Hungary and Poland. The thesis of the paper states that their political systems showed signs of immaturity and institutional weakness of liberal democracy that caused the impossibility of rejection of illiberal project of political changes. To explain the breakdown of liberal democracy the paper aims at revealing both social and institutional aspects of transformation. The conclusions of the research let us to formulate the four-staged concept of the development of illiberal democracy in Hungary and Poland. The concept bases on the trajectory that begins with the social frustration of liberal democracy that leads to support for a populist party, which after victorious elections, implement the illiberal pattern of democracy. Methodologically the research benefits from the analytic and synthetic methods, the comparative method and institutional approach.

The paper is an exploration of using unilateral presidential powers by Donald Trump. The Author hypothesizes that Trump, due to his lack of political experience, was less keen on detailed negotiations of legislative projects with Congress, and more willing to act unilaterally. Analyzing frequency of issuing selected unilateral directives by American presidents since Jimmy Carter, the Author claims that Trump was moderate user of unilateral tools, as several of his immediate predecessors issued more unilateral directives. However, Trump was most eager to act unilaterally in his fourth year of the presidency, due to emergency and national security concerns after the pandemic hit the United States.

Digital content is another important concept which helps to assess what cyber responsibility is in the context of the issue of protection, and what problems arise with its definition in the constitutional rights sphere. The distribution of digital content, especially in the social media, is by definition characterised by its cross-border nature. The condition for the preservation and development of this asset as digital content is not only the innovative management of the content disseminated through new media, but also the guarantee of the right of the protection of this content as a human right.

The author presents the constitutional aspects of the general duty of defense of the Fatherland in accordance with Polish law. The article is based on a comparative legal analysis of the provisions of the Constitution relating to the above-mentioned issue and, supplementarily, of the Act on the general obligation to defend the Republic of Poland. The work is theoretical and legal. At the beginning he analyzes the history and evolution of the concept of general duty of defense from the period of independence to the present day. The following part of the article presents the issue of the general duty of defense from the subjective and objective point of view. The author also presents normative acts which, apart from the constitution, regulate the issues of the general duty of defense. In addition, it indicates a number of entities that perform tasks in the field of defense, powers and competences.

On February 17, 2008 Kosovo declared independence. The foundation for the creation of the Republic of Kosovo was the international community, which created the legal framework for the future statehood of Kosovo. The concept developed in the Athisari Plan of making the Judicial Council the guarantor of judicial autonomy and independence of judges was also a kind of anticipation of the subsequent fundamental changes in the system, introduced under the 2008 Constitution. This article attempts to analyze the systemic position of the Kosovo Judicial Council in the state system formed under the 2008 Constitution. It presents the composition of the Council, the procedure for the appointment of its members and the principles of its organization and functioning. The solution adopted in the Kosovo Basic Law is in line with the widely understood Southern European organizational model of judicial councils.

The subject of this paper is to discuss the new institutions of Polish electoral criminal law, which are the penal provisions from 2018 added to the Electoral Code. These institutions, in addition to the norms guaranteeing the fairness of the electoral process and, at the same time, contributing to ensuring the fairness of elections resulting from international documents, national law, jurisprudence and views of the doctrine. The author discusses the features of a new type of prohibited act resulting from the amendment to the Electoral Code.

The article discusses administrative fines imposed in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic. The form and rules of their imposition allow us to assume that the pragmatics of their imposition was flawed from the very beginning of the pandemic. This is confirmed by the judgments of administrative courts which question the financial penalties in question.

The main purpose of this article is to discuss whether the decisions adopted by the government of the Republic of Lithuania are not in conflict with the guarantees of economic freedom enshrined in the Constitution. The article analyses four issues: 1. what constitutional bases of economic freedom are entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and the official constitutional doctrine of the Constitutional Court; 2. what conditions for restricting the economic freedom are established by the Lithuanian Constitution; 3. has economic freedom not been violated during the First and Second quarantines in Lithuania; 4. discuss the first case in Lithuania in which the court indicated whether the economic freedom had not been violated during the First Quarantine. The article is based on analytical (critically analyzed legal regulation), constitutionally oriented (presenting the provisions of the Constitution and the constitutional doctrine), and other research methods.

The purpose of the article is to present the amendments introduced to the Act - the Law on Assemblies by the Act adopted on December 13, 2016 and to define a new type of assemblies, i.e. public assemblies. Already the draftamending law has met with unfavorable opinions of the Supreme Court and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, which, of course, have not been taken into account. The Act adopted at a very fast pace was also challenged by the President of the Republic of Poland, who appealed to the Constitutional Tribunal to adjudicate on the compliance of its provisions with the Constitution. However, the Tribunal recognised the constitutionality of the new provisions. Briefly presenting the differences between the so-called ordinary assemblies and cyclical assemblies and the procedure related to their organization will allow to put forward the thesis about the introduction of solutions increasing legal uncertainty, violation of the principle of equality and granting the voivode broad discretion when issuing decisions allowing the organization of cyclical assemblies. This will also be confirmed by the indication of the first decisions of the voivode allowing the organization of cyclical assemblies.

Gloss to Judgement of the Supreme Court of 28 May 2021, file ref. no. III CZP 27/20

The glossed resolution has a significant impact on the catalogue of legal measures for environmental protection. Since the personal and collective dimensions of environmental protection are not in conflict, and the related private and public interests are based on a common value as the environment, seeking protection of individual rights threatened or violated as a result of environmental impact may constitute an important means of indirect legal protection of the environment and its resources, competitive to direct measures taken in the public interest. However, the reasoning of the Supreme Court indicated in the justification of the resolution raises certain doubts and may have significant consequences for the manner of interpretation of the provisions of the environmental protection law system.

Shuttling to and From. The Polish Experience of Democracy

In many European countries, a crisis of the democratic model of exercising power is noticeable today. This phenomenon is also noticeable in Poland. In the article, the author presents the Polish road to democratic shaping of one’s own, referring to historical experiences from the times of the II RP and PRL. It also draws attention to the moment of a specific breakthrough, which took place in 2015. Since then, the rulers have taken steps to overcome the constitutional mechanisms that inhibit the arbitrariness of exercising power and are striving to centralize governments within one political camp.

If not the Constitutional Tribunal, then What? On Dispersed Constitutional Review in Poland

The discussion on the model of constitutional review of law in Poland gained a new dimension after 2016 in connection with the ongoing constitutional crisis. First of all, there is a question of whether, irrespective of the competences of the Constitutional Tribunal, on the grounds of the binding constitutional provisions, also courts may review the constitutionality of statutory provisions in the process of their application. Although after 1997 the principle became established that the Constitutional Tribunal had exclusive competence to review the constitutionality of acts in Poland, a clear change in this respect is now visible both in doctrine and jurisprudence. The majority of doctrinal representatives justify the admissibility of dispersed judicial review by the inability of the Constitutional Tribunal to perform its basic function, treating it as something exceptional, incidental, determined by the doctrine of necessity. The aim of this paper is to present the debate on the admissibility of dispersed judicial review on the grounds of the Polish Constitution, as well as to indicate the possible directions of its development.

The Constitutional Moral and Material Rights of Creators of Science de lege lata and de lege ferenda. Structural Issues in the Context of a Universal System of Protecting Human Rights

This paper focuses on analysing the relationship between intellectual property law and human rights in point of view protecting the moral and material interests of the creators of intangible goods. The paper aims to determine whether the catalogue of human rights includes the subjective right of the creators of intangible goods to protect their personal and material rights to the fruits of their intellectual work and reconstruct the content of this right. The considerations are carried out from the background of the Polish and universal system of protecting human rights and the legal requirement to provide adequate protection to the creators of Science. The paper concludes that the catalogue of human rights includes the subjective right of the creators of intangible goods to protect their moral and material interests and reconstruct the content of that right.

Restrictions on Freedom due to the Premise of “Health Protection”. A Few Remarks Inspired by the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the Republic of Poland

There is no question that “health protection” is the premise for the establishment of constitutional restrictions on rights and freedoms. It has been so far the subject of legal science only exceptionally and occasionally; mainly in the context of restrictions on the freedom of economic activity. It was only the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the Republic of Poland that brought a wider interest in this category, referring it also to the limitations of another fundamental freedom – freedom of expression. Considering the above, the analysis of legal limitations on the freedom of expression, imposed on the basis of the premise of health protection, seems to be by all means justified and purposeful.

The Constitutional Obligation Pursue Policies Ensuring the Ecological Security of Current and Future Generations

The subject of the analysis in the publication is Art. 74 sec. 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. According to this article, public authorities are obliged to pursue a long-term environmental policy that not only meets current needs, but also recognizes the right of future generations to live in a healthy environment. The publication contains a general discussion of constitutional regulations relating to the environment, and then presents the views of doctrine and jurisprudence within the scope of understanding the term “ecological security” used in Art. 74 sec. 1. The consequences of the obligation to conduct a policy ensuring ecological security for present and future generations were discussed. Finally, reference was made to current problems and challenges resulting from concern for the condition of the environment in Poland.

Constitutional Status of the Speaker of the Senate

This article aims to highlight the issue of the constitutional status of the Speaker of the Senate by analyzing the constitutional position, powers as well as the election and removal procedure of the Speaker of the Senate. In addition, this paper includes a consideration of the Speaker of the Senate as a State organ, his powers related to the President of the Republic of Poland, as well as the Speaker of the Senate presiding over the proceedings of the chamber and guarding its rights and responsibility for taken actions.

Belgium as a Laboratory of Bipolar Federalism

Having moved away from unitarism, Belgium is described as a federal state of communities and regions. A large number of interpreters of the Belgian Constitution believe that federalism is an essential element of its constitutional identity. However, a more detailed analysis is needed to interpret the political system of this state. The breakdown of the unity of the political community at the national level as well as the doubt about the existence of a political nation are of crucial importance. A striking identity and growing separateness of the two linguistic groups, Flemish and Walloon, are decisive factors behind the originality of the political system of modern Belgium. In the article, I point out that the distinctive feature of the Belgian federalism involves the bipolarity and domination of the constitutional mechanism based on co-determination and co-operation of the two linguistic groups as the actual subjects of the power in the state. The predominance of this mechanism has significant systemic effects, including the renunciation of reforms to rationalize parliamentarism. The article also shows the importance of the Constitutional Court, hitherto underestimated, in maintaining the Belgian unity.

Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) Projects to Amend the 1978 Spanish Constitution

The main research objective of the study is to find an answer to the question: what are the main assumptions of the political reform proposed by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español – PSOE) regarding the amendment of the Spanish constitution of 1978? The study was carried out by implementation of the method of qualitative data analysis and regarded selected legal acts and PSOE party documents. The time frame of the study was set for the years 2004–2021. The initial caesura is justified by the electoral victory of PSOE at 2004. The final turning point is marked by the debates of the 40th PSOE Congress, held between October 15 and 17, 2021 in Valencia.

Philosophical and Theoretical View on the Meaning of Tenure

The author analyzes two approaches to the terms of office of the authorities. The study discusses the evolution of thinking about terms of office, which took place not only in doctrine, law, religion, but also in the understanding of people in power.

Qualified Majority of Votes Higher Than the Majority Required for Amending the Constitution

The 1997 Constitution of Poland provides for one, three or four instances – depending on the interpretation – for the parliamentary majority of votes higher than that required for amending that Constitution. The aim of this paper is to specify the reasons that might have guided the Constitution-makers in adopting such a gradation, and to analyse those regulations in the light of democratic axiology. Nonetheless the difficulties related to adopting decisions by the parliament result both from legal (procedural and material) and non-legal factors, majority of votes remains a basic criterion specifying the level of those difficulties, underlying the role that the minority plays in democracy. In the context of electoral process’ distortions qualified majority may also be seen as ensuring that parliamentary decisions indeed reflect the will of the voters’ majority. In a democratic state there are, however, such values that cannot be eliminated even by the highest majorities.

Crisis Management in Times of Epidemics a Restriction of Human and Civil Liberties and Rights

The aim of this arcticle is to indicate how the epidemic threat may affect the crisis management, mainly in the administrative terms. The subject of the study covers the definition of the principles of crisis management and possible restrictions on human and civil liberties and rights at the time of an epidemic threat. The analysis of the topic will allow to answer the questions: “is the public administration able to ensure the safety of citizens in times of epidemics?” and “do the current and so far introduced legal regulations in connection with the coronavirus epidemic significantly restrict the rights and freedoms of citizens?”.The first part of the work presents issues related to crisis management and public safety. In the second, the rules of managing national security due to the spread of the coronavirus will be discussed.

Dual Tenure of Executive in Municipalities – Restriction of Civil Rights or Reduction of Pathological Phenomena?

The phenomenon of multiterm mayors has become widespread in Poland, especially after introducing the direct election of the executive in municipalities in 2002. The direct election has given the mayors the dominant position in local politics. The way to limit it has seemed to be the limitation of number of terms in office of the municipal executive bodies to two. In the presented paper the arguments of opponents and supporters of this solution were analyzed. The analysis was made from the perspective of two levels: institutional- legal and socio-political. The aim of the analysis is to show the positives and negatives of the implemented change and the projected effects. The legal basis, its compliance with the constitution and the implications for the active and passive suffrage were analyzed. Also the results for local political systems and for local communities were examined, and it was confronted with the issue of political culture.

The Prosecutor’s Office and the Sejm

Author argues in the article that under the legal status preceding the 2009 amendment to the Act on the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Sejm’s control over the actions of the Minister of Justice – Prosecutor General found a direct basis in the constitutional norm, which entrusts the Sejm with the control over the Council of Ministers. Under the 2009 prosecution model, where the functions of the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Justice were separated, the Prosecutor General, directing the activities of the prosecution service, was an autonomous body in relation to Council of Ministers, President, Sejm and Senate. The reconnection of the functions of the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General by the 2016 Act gives the Sejm the possibility of parliamentary control of the Prosecutor General. Author indicates the instruments of parliamentary control emphasizing that the Sejm is entitled only to such powers of control that have been clearly defined in the Constitution and laws. Author justifies the thesis that the diversity of the models of functioning of the prosecutor’s office in Poland, as an institution beyond the framework of the classical Montesquieu classification, does not deprive the Sejm of the right to control the prosecutor’s office, which he realizes with the help of diverse means.

Participation of the Children’s Ombudsman in Administrative Court Proceedings

The publication aims at presenting the problem of participation of the Children’s Ombudsman in administrative court proceedings, based on the analysis of case law available in the Administrative Courts Case Law Database. Referenced judicial decisions demonstrate that while actions taken by the Children’s Ombudsman in the administrative court proceedings focus on the necessity of protecting the rights of the youngest ones, the Ombudsman’s activity is limited by the nature of the judicial activity of administrative courts within the polish legal framework and by their subject-matter jurisdiction.

The Constitutional Expression of the Principle of Independence of the State and Religious Associations

The aim of the study is to specify and analyze the expression of the principle of independence of the state and religious associations in contemporary constitutions. This is preceded by an attempt to establish the ideological roots of the principle of independence of the above-mentioned entities. Primarily, the formal-dogmatic and legal-comparative methods were used. The historical and legal method was used as a subsidiary. The texts of all binding constitutions were analyzed in terms of the articulation of the aforementioned principle of religious relations. The principle of independence of the state and religious associations is one of the main normative directives of religious relations in contemporary Poland. It has ideological roots not only in Catholic social teaching, but also in the liberal doctrine. Since the end of the 20th century, it has found a permanent place in the constitutionalism of a number of European secular (non-religious) states and some Latin American states.

Place of International Law in the Legal System of Ukraine

An important factor in shaping the legal system of an independent democratic state is to define the place of its international obligations in the domestic legal system. International law binds states that are bound by its norms governing their cooperation within the international community. Therefore, it is necessary to refer to the problem of the relation of international law to internal law by analyzing the regulations of the Ukrainian legislation and the international conventions concluded by it. The subject of the analysis are the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine of 1996 and the Act on International Agreements of 2004 as well as the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, to which the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic acceded in 1986 and to which Ukraine is now a party.

GAFAM – Global Digital Corporations as Participants in Political Processes

The article analyzes the participation of GAFAM transnational corporations in the exercise of classically regarded as state power. According to our thesis, their importance applies not only to business issues, but also to interference in national political relations. It replaces the competences hitherto belonging to the state authorities, both in the sphere of international and internal politics. When mentioning about GAFAM companies, we mean not only specific companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook (currently Meta Platforms), Apple and Microsoft, which are the most expressive examples confirming our thesis, but also other global companies with a similar operating modus operandi.

The Division of Power in the Republic of Cyprus Between the Greek and Turkish Communities as a Constitutional Response of the State to its Ethnic Structure

The ethnic structure of the state is one of the factors that can shape its system and result in the adoption of various specific legal mechanisms. The aim of this article is to present, on the example of the Republic of Cyprus, an unusual legal system solution consisting in the proportional division of power, i.e. positions and offices in the state, between the dominant ethnic groups. The analysis will concern selected provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, which refer to the Greek and Turkish communities living in Cyprus and regulate the level and manner of their participation in exercising power in the state. The uniqueness of the constitutional solutions adopted in Cyprus will be emphasized, which, in order to ensure the unity of the state and constitute significant guarantees for ethnic groups, may in practice, however, turn out to be non- -functional or lead to distortions.

Constitutional Duty to Protect Polish Borders in the Light of the Crisis on the Border with Belarus

The duty of each state established by internal law is to protect its borders. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, referring to the need to ensure the integrity of the territory and the security and inviolability of its borders, gives this duty priority. The crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border poses a serious threat to both the Baltic countries and the European Union. The methods and means used to end it are primarily intended to ensure border security, which is a particularly difficult task given the hybrid nature of the actions carried out by Belarus. The possibility of response and reaction of Polish services is limited by the need to respect human rights, international law regulations and democratic rules, which the Republic of Belarus does not feel bound by. The use of the state of emergency made it possible to focus efforts on combating the crisis, but the question arises how the situation will develop after it is lifted.

Ochrona grup wymagających szczególnego traktowania w orzecznictwie Sądu Konstytucyjnego Litwy

Orzecznictwo Litewskiego Sądu Konstytucyjnego miało istotny wpływ na wzmocnienie demokracji, praworządności i stabilności porządku konstytucyjnego na Litwie. Fundamentem każdego demokratycznego państwa, gdzie jest ważna praworządność, jest poszanowanie praw człowieka. Ponadto często podkreśla się, że sytuacja najsłabszych członków społeczeństwa odzwierciedla rzeczywisty poziom postępu i demokracji w danym państwie. Dlatego artykuł ten ma na celu ukazanie, w jaki sposób Sąd Konstytucyjny na Litwie przyczynił się do wzmocnienia ochrony osoby należącej do grupy osób wymagających szczególnego traktowania.

Ograniczenia podstawowych praw i wolności podczas pandemii na Słowacji

Artykuł analizuje braki w regulacji prawnej ochrony zdrowia publicznego ujawnione w kryzysie wywołanym pandemią COVID-19. Działania antypandemiczne podejmowane w kontekście ochrony życia i zdrowia nie spełniały wymagań jakościowych stawianych legislacji pozwalającej na proporcjonalne ograniczanie podstawowych praw i wolności. Wyznaczanie granic podstawowych praw i wolności zastrzeżonych dla ustawodawcy zostało niedopuszczalnie pozostawione pozaprawnemu stanowieniu prawa.

Udział organów władzy w stanowieniu prawa na Węgrzech

Na Węgrzech organem władzy ustawodawczej jest Parlament. Według regulacji Konstytucji węgierskiej kompetencję do uchwalania ustawodawstwa przysługuje Parlamentowi, najwyższemu organowi reprezentacji ludowej. Przedmiotem artykułu jest przedstawienie roli organu władzy ustawodawczej w procesie ustawodawczym. Autorzy odwołują się również do udziału innych organów władzy państwowej w stanowieniu prawa.

Rodowód współczesnego administracyjnego podziału terytorialnego Hiszpanii. Sprawa municypiów i prowincji

Konstytucjonaliści hiszpańscy są zgodni, że współczesna organizacja terytorialna państwa wymaga pilnych reform. Mapa administracyjna państwa oparta na tradycyjnych jednostkach terytorialnych: municypiach i prowincjach nie wytrzymuje zderzenia ze współczesnymi wymaganiami „państwa autonomii”, jak zwykło nazywać się obecną Hiszpanię. O ile wspólnoty autonomiczne są podmiotami w miarę świeżymi, o tyle zarówno municypia, jak i prowincje sięgają swoimi korzeniami Średniowiecza, a nawet okresów wcześniejszych. Stąd próby forsowania nowych administracyjnych jednostek podziału terytorialnego, które nie zostały uwzględnione we współczesnej Konstytucji lub próby wskrzeszenia dawnych jednostek przystosowanych w większy lub mniejszy sposób do we współczesnym modelu państwa. Niniejszy artykuł przybliża rodowód poszczególnych jednostek terytorialnych, ukazując jak bardzo historia i tradycja wpływa na współczesny podział administracyjny państwa.

Uprawnienia Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w zakresie zapewnienia bezpieczeństwa państwa

W świetle Konstytucji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z 2 kwietnia 1997 r. Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej jest najwyższym przedstawicielem państwa oraz gwarantem ciągłości władzy państwowej. Jednym z należących do niego obowiązków jest obowiązek stania na straży suwerenności i bezpieczeństwa państwa, jak również nienaruszalności i niepodzielności jego terytorium. Prawodawca w ustawie zasadniczej, jak też w innych aktach rangi ustawowej przyznał głowie państwa uprawnienia, których wykonywanie ma służyć właściwej ochronie bezpieczeństwa państwa i jego obywateli. Artykuł w ogólnym zarysie ukazuje zakres uprawnień Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, które w sytuacjach wystąpienia różnych zagrożeń są wykorzystywane przez głowę państwa w celu ich zapobiegnięcia lub zminimalizowania ich skutków.

Instytucja ciszy wyborczej w preferencjach politycznych

Cisza wyborcza to czas, w którym zakazana jest jakakolwiek forma agitacji politycznej. Jest to czas, który ma służyć spokojnej refleksji, zastanowieniu, pozwalający na podjęcie świadomej i przemyślanej decyzji wyborczej. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest próba udzielenia odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy zdaniem polskich wyborców w dobie rozwoju nowoczesnych technologii informacyjnych i komunikacyjnych racjonalne jest utrzymanie takiego elementu systemu wyborczego jak instytucja ciszy wyborczej. W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badania przeprowadzonego w ramach ogólnopolskiego projektu Political Preferences. Badanie przeprowadzono jesienią 2019 r. w wykorzystaniem metody ankietowej na liczącej 1072 osób reprezentatywnej próbie losowej dorosłych mieszkańców Polski.

Prawa i obowiązki państwa członkowskiego organizacji międzynarodowej – artykuł 90 Konstytucji RP

Artykuł 90 Konstytucji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (ustawy zasadniczej) jest zdefiniowany nie tylko w orzecznictwie, ale również i w doktrynie, jako podstawa prawna przystąpienia państwa członkowskiego (m.in. Polski) do organizacji międzynarodowej. Udział ten związany jest przede wszystkim z uprawnieniami członkowskimi, ale także z obowiązkami. Wśród tych pierwszych należy wskazać po pierwsze czerpanie korzyści z członkostwa w organizacji międzynarodowej, po drugie wykonywanie wszystkich statutowych i zwyczajowych uprawnień członkowskich, czy też udział w procesie podejmowania decyzji. Natomiast do obowiązków członkowskich należy zaliczyć po pierwsze wykonywanie zobowiązań statutowych, wspieranie organizacji międzynarodowej w realizacji celów i funkcji organizacyjnych, czy też solidarność z organizacją oraz jej państwami członkowskimi.

Wyrażenie zgody przez dziecko na przetwarzanie jego danych osobowych w ramach usług społeczeństwa informacyjnego

Od dłuższego czasu można zauważyć, że dostępne w świecie wirtualnym usługi, takie jak np. portale społecznościowe, platformy z grami, platformy z utworami muzycznymi, zyskały zainteresowanie internautów różnej kategorii wiekowej. Wśród nich są i dzieci, które wymagają szczególnej ochrony w związku z przetwarzaniem ich danych osobowych. Na kwestie te zwrócił uwagę prawodawca unijny w art. 8 RODO. Celem niniejszego opracowania jest analiza rozwiązań przyjętych w art. 8 RODO oraz ocena ich stosowania w praktyce.

Małżeństwo osób tej samej płci a Kościół katolicki: Europejska perspektywa porównawcza

Małżeństwa osób tej samej płci zostały uznane w wielu państwach, w tym w katolickich. Według Kościoła katolickiego szacunek dla osób homoseksualnych nie może prowadzić do zatwierdzenia legalizacji związków osób tej samej płci. Normy prawne w niektórych państwach mają na celu ochronę małżeństw heteroseksualnych, gdyż zrównanie związków homo- i heteroseksualnych oznaczałoby utratę podstawowych wartości należących do wspólnego dziedzictwa ludzkości. Stanowisko Kościoła nie jest monolityczne. Są zwolennicy, którzy opowiadają się za zmianą nauczania Kościoła na temat nierozerwalności małżeństwa czy akceptacji związków homoseksualnych. W artykule przedstawiono, w których państwach europejskich (ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem krajów katolickich) dopuszczalne są małżeństwa osób tej samej płci, ukazano związki między stanowiskiem Kościoła w sprawie takich związków a świeckimi systemami prawnymi. Istnieje ogromna rozbieżność w postawach wobec homoseksualizmu między katolickimi konserwatystami w Europie Zachodniej i Wschodniej. Konserwatyści katoliccy w Europie Zachodniej zrozumieli, że wolność seksualna jest kwestią bezdyskusyjną i nie powinna być mieszana w polityczne batalie o sprawy fundamentalne.

Udział samorządu specjalnego w wykonywaniu administracji publicznej

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza istniejących w polskim systemie prawnym podstaw funkcjonowania samorządu specjalnego oraz jego rola w wykonywaniu administracji publicznej poprzez analizę samorządu zawodowego oraz gospodarczego. Warto podkreślić, że samorząd zawodowy jest wyrazem budowania społeczeństwa obywatelskiego. Reprezentuje osoby wykonujące zawody zaufania publicznego, których rola sprowadza się do realizacji zgodnie z zasadą pomocniczości zadań publicznych zleconych im przez państwo. Zauważyć należy także, że wprowadzenie do polskiej ustawy zasadniczej samorządów zaufania publicznego jest wyrazem kreowania zaufania obywateli do określonego zawodu. Natomiast istotę samorządu gospodarczego dostrzega się w korporacji tworzonej z mocy prawa, wyposażonej we władztwo administracyjne, celem wykonywania zdecentralizowanej administracji publicznej i tworzonej dla upodmiotowienia przedsiębiorców, powiększając w ten sposób zakres zarządzania partycypacyjnego.

Ochrona bezpieczeństwa państwa w cyberprzestrzeni jako przesłanka uzasadniająca ograniczenie korzystania z konstytucyjnych wolności i praw

Artykuł odnosi się do cyberbezpieczeństwa państwa jako przesłanki pozwalającej na ingerencję w sferę wolności praw i wolności jednostki. Jego celem jest wskazanie okoliczności uzasadniających ograniczanie korzystania ze swobód obywatelskich, a także zasad temu towarzyszących. Konstytucyjne wolności i prawa nie są absolutne, w związku z czym w przypadku szczególnego zagrożenia mogą być ograniczane, nie może to mieć jednak charakteru dowolnego i być wykorzystywane do walki politycznej. Prawodawca wyraźnie wskazuje kiedy i przez kogo mogą być wprowadzane stosowne ograniczenia, a kiedy ingerencja jest niedopuszczalna. Rodzaje ograniczeń dotyczących korzystania z wolności i praw człowieka i obywatela powinny odpowiadać charakterowi oraz intensywności zagrożeń występujących w cyberprzestrzeni oddziałujących na normalne funkcjonowanie państwa. W artykule zastosowano metodę dogmatyczno-prawną, za pośrednictwem której dokonano analizy obowiązujących przepisów prawnych pod kątem cyberbezpieczeństwa jako przesłanki uzasadniającej ograniczenie wolności i praw jednostki.

Glossary to the Decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court of May 11, 2021, file ref. no. III OSK 3265/21

In the commented order, the Supreme Administrative Court held that the matter of conferring the title of professor is an administrative matter. The court assumed that the conferring the title of professor is not a discretionary decision of the President, falling within the scope of his personal prerogative. The decision of the President of the Republic of Poland falls into a category “acts or actions related to public administration regarding rights or obligations under legal regulations” referred to in Art. 3 § 2 point 4 of the Act of August 30, 2002 – the Law on proceedings before administrative courts. The President of the Republic of Poland should be treated as an administrative body in a functional sense, and thereby a lack of action or excessive length of proceedings in this case can be a subject to review by an administrative court.

Legislative Veto of the President of the Republic of Poland in Political Practice

The aim of the article is to analyze the legislative veto of the President of the Republic of Poland and his relationship with the Sejm. The study indicates the constitutional regulation concerning the presidential veto and the legislative process. The author’s intention was to show that the President’s veto may affect the fate of the act, but also the government’s policy. Such a situation takes place if the President’s veto concerns a bill submitted to the Sejm on the initiative of the Council of Ministers. The institution of the President’s legislative veto was analyzed in terms of theory and its practical functioning in political practice, as well as how the veto is used by a person holding the office of the President. In order to better illustrate the title issue, the activities of the presidents of the Republic of Poland since passed of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland have been briefly presented.

The Guarantor or an Arbitrator? The Role of the President of the Republic of Poland in the Light of Art. 126 sec. 1 of the Polish Constitution

The author of the study claims that assigning the role of an arbitrator to the President of the Republic of Poland is incorrect. It is a misleading reference to the constitutional position of the President of the Fifth French Republic, who vests much stronger power. It deprives the function of the guarantor of the continuity of power, referred to in Art. 126 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, of its content and systemic significance. The President of the Republic is not impartial and apolitical and takes part in the implementation of state policy. These features prevent him from taking a neutral position towards the participants in the conflict and from resolving it impartially. In addition, the Polish Constitution does not equip him with the appropriate competencies.

The Myth of Constitutional Liability

The article attempts to prove that the mechanism of constitutional liability, generally accepted in democratic countries, is largely based on a systemic myth, which is primarily of historical origin, but which does not correspond to the modern doctrinally distinguished functions of law, constitution and its guarantees. In this context, this particular type of legal liability of high state officials has been subjected mainly to a theoretical functional analysis and taking into account teleological criteria, as well as factors that affect its assumed and actual systemic shape.

Legislative Power and its Organs from the Perspective of the Practice of Membership of the Republic of Poland in the European Union

The aim of the article is to analyze the influence of the legislative authorities on the membership of the Republic of Poland in the European Union. A dozen or so years of Poland’s membership in this international organization allows for a new look at the phenomenon of the “democratic deficit”, which has for a long time been the case that the position of the legislative authorities is decreasing in connection with EU membership. It should be stated that the legislative authorities, due to the system of government established in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, should play a greater role in the process of integration of the Republic of Poland with the European Union.

The Free Mandate and Its Limits

The author aims to highlight the issue of the free mandate and its limits by indicating its evolution over the years. This paper includes a consideration of the characteristics of the representative free mandate by indicating its basic properties (universality, independence and non-revocability) as well as the formal and material limits of its exercise. The author focuses his attention primarily on the analysis of the regulations concerning the problem in question, extended by a number of doctrinal views and the historical aspect.

Privileging of Government Draft Laws in the Spanish Legislative Process

In the article the author identifies the normative arguments as well as the arguments from the constitutional practice justifying the axiom contained in Article 89 of the Spanish Constitution that government draft laws are privileged at the stage of exercising the legislative initiative by constitutionally authorised entities. This allows us to conclude that the thesis of privileging government draft laws finds support in other constitutional provisions and in the provisions of the standing orders of both parliamentary chambers at the stage of initiating legislative proceedings, which allows the Government to have a real influence on the scope of the legislative matter considered by the Cortes Generales.

Superpresidentialism as a System of Government

The classical typology distinguishes three models of sharing state power: parliamentarism, semi-presidentialism, and presidentialism. Distinctive features concern the position of main state organs and mutual relations between the legislature and executive bodies. The following paper argues in favor of enriching such classification by distinguishing superpresidentialism. It confirms that there is a group of political systems that do not fit traditional typology, combining some features of the semi-presidentialism and presidentialism. The core feature of the superpresidentialism is the domination of the President over the political system, its leading position in exercising power, control over the government, significant competences towards legislature and judiciary. The content of the superpresidentialism is discussed basing on the example of Central Asian republics.