Three spheres of privacy. Public and private in  contemporary legal system and social theory

The protection of privacy embraces three areas: physical integrity, information autonomy and protection of family life. All these spheres, distinguished in law and jurisprudence, protect the human identity against public authorities and other people interferences. However, in all these spheres there can be observed new changes, appearing insocial life and lifestyle, which let us ask the questions about the scope and real need of privacy protection in contemporary world, where cultural norms and development of societies influence on concept of privacy and public sphere.

In this article the author analyzes various legal aspects necessary for maintaining the rights of citizens to live in a free, safe and democratic state of contemporary digital era. She presents philosophical and legal origins of the rights to privacy and the development of the concept in different countries with a particular emphasis of its place in the digital world of modern democracies. She tries to show the importance of this concept as the premise for national security and compares legal solutions in different countries all over the world. It makes the article important because her interests go into comparing and finding not only the best examples and legal cases but practical knowledge which may be used in academic work and research.

At the beginning 2020, the vast majority of countries worldwide were forced to confront and face the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The rapid spread of this new disease resulted in radical changes in the basic principles of the functioning and organization of states and entire societies. The novel circumstances which both nation states and the international community are facing induce reflection on the need of redefining the right to privacy. This paper aims to answer, whether the current situation will lead to lasting changes in the way privacy is now perceived in Europe and what threats may be associated with the possible changes.

Professional Secrecy of Lawyers as a Way to Protect the Private Sphere of an Individual

The private sphere of an individual is legally protected by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 as well as civil, criminal and administrative law. The paper discusses the duty of confidentionality of lawyers and the role of that duty to protect the private sphere of an individual. The positive aspect of professional secrecy and the so-called internal aspect of the protection of professional secrecy of lawyers prompted the consideration of the horizontal effect of onstitutional norms. Likewise, the negative aspect of professional secrecy and its external perspective prompted the examination of the vertical effect of onstitutional norms that protect the private sphere of an individual.

Change in the Status and Powers of the Pool Watchers after the Enactment of the January 26, 2023 Amendments to the Election Code

The amendment to the Election Code made on 2023 significantly changed the status and powers of the pool watchers. If they observe the voting for at least 5 hours and observe the entire process of determining the results of voting until the signing of the voting protocol, they will receive 40% of the flat-rate allowance of members of ward electoral commissions. The chairmen of ward electoral commissions are obliged to keep records of the working time of the pool watchers. The most controversial issue is granting them the possibility of registering all activities of ward electoral commissions on election day using their own devices recording all activities of the ward electoral commission also during voting. This solution violates the principle of secrecy of voting, the right to privacy, and may be treated as an unacceptable form of pressure on the voter regarding the content of his vote.