The short article discusses the competences of ombudsmen in Sweden and Finland in relation to the judiciary. These institutions have controlling and supervisory powers in relation to courts of law, including the determination of the accountability of judges and typical competences of a prosecutor. The Author points out the necessity to read provisions of the constitutions and acts regulating the discussed competences in the light of the principle of the judiciary’s independence. Still, the supervisory rights of ombudsmen in Sweden and Finland are very well developed and may refer to issues approaching closely the sphere of jurisdiction. When assessing the solutions presented, the Author points out the fact that the ombudsmen in both countries have worked out respective practices aimed at such use of available means of control so they cannot be accused of a reasonable and too extended interference with the judiciary sphere.

The first orders had been established and awarded by monarchs long before the republican concept of presidency was developed. The many powers which presidents took over from monarchs include, inter alia, the awarding (and revoking) of state honours. The issue, usually regarded as marginal, does not appeal to constitutional law scholars. Poland’s legal regulations concerning orders are hardly precise (this being particularly true as far as the constitutional law is discussed) and the fact gives rise to many practical problems concerning application of the country’s constitution and statutes from the field, quite frequently going beyond the matters of orders in the strict meaning of the phrase. One of the questions of the kind, not having become an object of interest to legal scholars so far, is the acceptance by the President of the Republic of Poland of foreign orders and distinctions received either within his capacity as the supreme representative of the State in international relations or as a private individual. The picture resulting from an analysis of practice and theory of order-related issues is hardly a coherent one. The following paper – besides due presentation – aims at sharpening the somewhat blurry image.

Partnership NATO–Sweden

Article characterizes relations between most powerful military pact – Northern Atlantic Pact and neutral state – Sweden. In this article is analyzing cooperation on military ground, non-military ground and it is also analyzing aspects of cooperation involving neutral status of Sweden, Crimea annexation and growing danger from Russia. Studies connected to main theme of article were based on official documents od NATO, press notes or official releases. Main reason of article is to answer on question if neutral state can cooperate with NATO and can we say that between NATO and Sweden exists partnership relation. Except of above issues, in this article I will try to define neutrality, neutral policy and partnership. After made analysis of available documents, emphatically we can agree that partnership between NATO and Sweden exists.

The Constitutional Position of the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament

The position of the talman – the Speaker of the Swedish parliament is quite specific in comparison to his/her counterparts in other states, which have adapted parliamentary system. This is primarily because of a wide range of competencies assigned to talman. Apart from traditional functions of a Speaker concerning the organisation, operation, work and representation of the parliament, Swedish talman holds responsibilities which are traditionally performed by the head of state – a president or a monarch, like nominating the prime minister and the ministers. In the hierarchy of state bodies the Speaker of the Riksdag is now the highest position for which a Swedish citizen can be elected. This high position has been established by constitutional reforms from the 60s and 70s of the last century which introduced unicameral system and resulted in adopting the new constitution.

Sweden has a substantially long tradition of conducting an image policy using both public diplomacy and nation branding. The refugee crisis is a significant challenge for maintaining a strong nation brand and positive perceptions of this country, mostly owing to contradictions between the declared values of Sweden’s image and nation brand and the real steps undertaken by the government to limit refugee immigration. The aim of this article is to discover potential correlation between the refugee crisis and changes within Sweden’s image and the strategy for promoting the country abroad, as well as Sweden’s methods and forms of international communication.

The article discusses a wide range of issues concerning the Swedish model of the public notary institution. In the first part of the paper, the author makes an attempt to describe briefly the specific characteristics of the public notary institution in Poland with a view to showing subsequently the differences between both systems. Furthermore, the author describes shortly the historical background of the public notary institution in Sweden, and then points out how this institution operates nowadays according to the law about public notary, which entered into force on 1 July 1982, in particular who notaries are appointed and revoked by, who can become a notary and which the most important tasks of a public notary are. We are also given some practical details about how the public notary institution in Sweden works.

W opracowaniu wskazuje się, Szwecja od czasu II wojny światowej jest państwem przychylnym napływowi imigrantów. Wypracowano w niej politykę imigracyjną, która ujawnia otwartość na zmiany w rzeczywistości poszerzania się ruchów migracyjnych ludności świata. Ważną przyczyną napływu migrantów do Szwecji było sytuowanie się jej w środowisku międzynarodowym jako „państwa dobrobytu”. W życiu imigracyjnym Szwecji wyraźnie zaznaczyli swą obecność Polacy. W latach 60. i 70. XX w. ujawniła się tam imigracja Polek zwana matrymonialną. Oblicze imigracji w Szwecji zmienia się współcześnie pod wpływem procesów globalizacyjnych generowanych przez postęp naukowo-techniczny, międzynarodowe rozwiązania prawne (prawa człowieka), nowoczesną edukację zorientowaną na budzenie świadomości przemian cywilizacyjnych.