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.

The article attempts to confront the individual’s constitutional right to informational autonomy and the powers of the Police in the framework of which the service may collect and process personal data. Bearing in mind the paramount role of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and its special importance for the sphere of rights and freedoms, the key regulations devoted to the right to privacy and the possibility of limiting informational autonomy were referred to. Treating the constitutional content as fundamental in the relationship between the individual and the state authorities, they were referred to the powers of the Police based on which the service may legally interfere in the information sphere of the individual. It was also stressed that the multiplicity of powers and the expansion of their catalog make it necessary to pay more attention to applying the proportionality mechanism.