Relation Between Concepts “Liberal Profession” and “Profession of Public Trust”, Referred to art. 17 par. 1 of the Polish Constitution. Part I

The terms ‘liberal profession’ and ‘profession of public trust’ used in law and literature have not been defined, and therefore are often used interchangeably. However, they define two different occupational groups, so they should not be used as synonyms. The lack of a definition of these concepts creates a lot of doubts, the explanation of which is very important because granting a given profession the status of “profession of public trust” is associated with granting it certain important privileges, obligations, but also restrictions. It regards, among others for the possibility of creating professional self-governments authorized to represent persons exercising these professions and overseeing their proper performance within the limits of the public interest and for its protection. The above, may entail the need to introduce many restrictions both in the scope of freedom to practice a profession and the freedom to start a business, if such activity would be related to such activity.

Relation between the concepts of “liberal profession” and “profession of public trust” referred to in art. 17 par. 1 of the Polish Constitution. Part II

 “Profession of public trust” through the provision of art. 17 of the Constitution became a constitutional institution, but not legally defined. Meanwhile, determining the meaning of this concept is very important for several reasons. First of all, some legal effects are associated with assigning a particular profession to this group such as granting special rights and obligations to persons performing such a profession. Second, the lack of the definition of this concept generates problems in the lability of its meaning. Finally, the term is erroneously used interchangeably with the concept of ‘liberal profession’. Therefore, it is necessary to approximate the understanding of this concept formulated in legal literature and case law.

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.

The Principle of Equality in Elections to Bodies of Self- Governments of Public Trust Professions

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the constitutional principles relating to elections to public authorities should mutatis mutandis be the benchmark for elections to the bodies of self-government of public trust professions. The principle of equality of the electoral law is of particular importance in this area. The analysis has been carried out on the basis of the Polish Constitution, the case law of the Constitutional Tribunal and the laws and internal acts regarding professional self-governments. It follows that a breach of the principle of equality in the internal acts of a professional self-government may be grounds for declaring them unlawful. Whereas, laws concerning these self-governments should enable the scrutiny of elections. The considerations lead to the conclusion that topics combining the position of professional self-governments and democratic standards of the election law can be a field of interesting research in the domain of constitutional law.

The Scope of Constitutional Custody over the Performance of Professions of Public Trust

Exercising custody over the proper performance of professions of public trust is the essence of professional self-government established pursuant to Art. 17 sec. 1 of the Polish Constitution. The scope of this custody is very wide and varied, due to the need to adapt it to the specificity of specific professions of public trust. It covers most of the tasks in the field of public administration, including, inter alia, deciding on the possibility of practicing a profession, registration of persons authorized to practice a profession, as well as controlling the way in which it is performed by disciplinary jurisdiction. Constitutional custody over the proper performance of professions of public trust should be exercised within the limits of the public interest and for its protection, that is, in the interest of the general public and all citizens.

The Code of Conduct for European Lawyers (CCBE) in the Polish Legal System

The Code of Conduct for European Lawyers, adopted by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), purports to be adopted as enforceable rules in relation to the cross-border activities of the lawyers. The object of this article is to examine whether the Code is a binding act for attorneys at law and attorneys. The professional self-governments have recognised the Code as a binding act for their members, but the analysis leads to the conclusion that there is no basis for this in Polish law. Furthermore, the Code is not an internal act within the meaning of Article 93 of the Polish Constitution. This means that neither attorneys at law nor attorneys can be held disciplinarily liable for breaches of the Code. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the provisions of the Code, they should be included in the professional codes of ethics of these professional self-governments.

The incrising demand for regulating social relations which are becoming more complicated is an efect of developing civilization, including in it the level of protection of human rights in XXI century. Standarization is a synonym of the nowadys developing world economy. Apart of the legal rules there are other regulation systems like moral standards, ethical standards, deontological norms or customs. These regulation systems are the complementary systems to the law regulations. Their origin is the natural law. Deontological principles mostly are legally binding like planty of ethical standards in medicine. The reason of the legal power of ethics in medicine is libility for human life. Code of Medical Ethics is also the source of legal norms in medical law. The most important legal norm for medical practice is the doctor’s obligation to treat patients acording to the current medical knowledge. Besides doctors should conduct their practice in a socially acceptable way as working in a profession of public trust.

The Nature of Membership in the Professional Self-Governments in the Scope of Article 17 section 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The nature of compulsory membership in professional self-governments associating persons covered by the obligation of public trust is a fact that is questioned from time to time. Opponents of obligatory membership, however, find it difficult to argue for the identification of membership. According to art. 17 sec. 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the basic opinion of professional self-governments is to supervise the proper performance of the profession by their members, which they do on behalf of the state, in the public interest. Therefore, in order to be able to fully perform this supervision, professional self-overnments should be equipped with an authoritative function in relation to all persons covered by the profession on equal terms. The aim of the article is to justify the obligatory membership in the professional self-government using dogmatic and legal methods.