The Constitutional Principle of Consumer Protection (Article 76 of the Polish Constitution) in the Judgments of the Supreme Court

One of the constitutional principles is the principle of consumer protection expressed in Article 76 of the Constitution. The paper adopts a research hypothesis according to which this principle plays an important role in the process of application of the law by the Supreme Court and justification of its judgments. The hypothesis was verified through the analysis of several dozen judgments issued during the period of the Constitution. This analysis made it possible to confirm the hypothesis. The Supreme Court invokes the title principle in many of its judgments for persuasive purposes (to strengthen the argumentation contained in the justification) and also uses it as an interpretative guideline. The role of the title principle has increased after the entry into force of the provisions on the extraordinary complaint, as recourse to it creates the possibility to set aside final judgments whose issuance has led to the violation of consumer rights.

Constitutional Protection of Consumers, Users, and Tenants versus Personal Data Protection and Selected Issues of Informational Rights

The purpose of the article is to highlight the key role of informational rights within the constitutional system of consumer protection. These rights appear to be somewhat universal, at least in relation to another constitutionally guaranteed area: the protection of personal data. The main challenge associated with effective implementation of informational rights seems to be the lack of understanding of the content conveyed through messages or information. In the context of data protection regulations (both at the EU and national levels), a rule of plain language has been established as a remedy for such difficulties. Interestingly, at the constitutional level, in the context of applying Art. 76, similar requirements regarding the formal aspect of implementing informational rights have emerged in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal. The authors advocate for a broad unification of the principle of transparent communication, at least in the context of implementing informational rights.