Performing Public Tasks Consisting in Running Points of Free Legal Assistance and/or Free Civic Counselling by Church Legal Entities

Running points of free legal assistance and/or free civic counseling can be entrusted to non-governmental organizations conducting public benefit activities. Non-governmental organizations are selected in annual open competitions for offers organized in each voivodeship by district and cities with district rights. The text discussees the issue of admissibility of performing above mentioned tasks by church legal entities. The analysis shows that, in principle, church legal entities are not entitled to do so, although in practice these tasks are carried out by them.

Analysis of Article 233 § 3 of the Tax Ordinance in the Context of the Principle of Two-Instance Proceedings Resulting from Article 78 of the Constitution of the Republic of Polan

The principle of two-instance proceedings is one of the most important procedural guarantees which aim to ensure the respect of individual rights. This principle has been regulated in article 78 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. In the system of law, the rule is that the appellate body may adjudicate both reformatively and cassationally. One exceptions to this rule is provided for in article 233 § 3 of the Tax Ordinance. If the appeal is successful, this provision empowers the local government appeals board only to overrule the decision issued by the first instance authority on the basis of administrative discretion. The aim of this article is to analyse article 233 § 3 of the Tax Ordinance in the context of the principle of two-instance proceedings. In the opinion of the author of this paper, this provision constitutes an unjustified limitation of the right to two-instance proceedings.

Compensation in the Light of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Civil Code

The article discusses the issue of compensation in the light of the provisions of the Polish Constitution and the Civil Code. The Constitution primarily deals with compensation for expropriation for public purposes, while the compensation provided in the Civil Code reflects the realization of the idea of justice, which is one of the fundamental principles of Polish private law, ensuring the compensation for the damage caused to rights and interests protected by law. The Constitution refers to just compensation, while the Civil Code speaks of full compensation. The author argues that these terminological differences do not deprive the entitled person, under both the Constitution and the Civil Code, of the right to full compensation. Referring to the situations discussed, the author demonstrates that, while the principle of full compensation is not an absolute rule and the law allows for compensation to be awarded at a lower amount than the actual damage, the same approach should apply to the constitutional principle of just compensation. To ensure satisfaction for individuals deprived of their rights through expropriation, the author proposes introducing a legal solution whereby an individual dissatisfied with the amount of compensation received could apply to a common court for a review of the compensation amount. This approach would, on the one hand, safeguard the public interest in acquiring the necessary rights to achieve a public purpose, while, on the other hand, protect those affected by expropriation through an independent body separate from the expropriation procedure participants.