The present legal status of Transnistria neither seems to be obvious, nor distinctly determined. Its estimation in the context of the region’s statehood has been a subject of disputes of, and divides at the same time, the theorists of state, international lawyers, as well as experts in international relations and political sciences. The hereby paper is an attempt of making the analysis of the selected issues determining Transdniester’s status, first and foremost from the perspective of the theory of state and constitutional law, but also taking into account the international law point of view. It aims at finding an answer to the question on its legal and constitutional status as it is seen by both the unrecognized Transnistria’s state and Moldavia. The subject of the work contains the analysis of the elements of a state’s definition in the context of Transnistria. Moreover, it comprises considerations over the right of nations to self-determination and the problem of sovereignty as regards to the region. It also concentrates on the analysis of Transnistria’s status based on the Moldavian legislation, as well as different possibilities and opportunities/chances to solve the conflict lasting for almost thirty years.

The article concerns the constitutional position and political role of the President of the Republic of Poland. Though the Author concentrates on the current constitution of Poland, that entered info force in 1997, he also reviews all the constitutions (and important amendments to these constitutions) that were adopted over the last century, so after Poland had restored its sovereignty in 1918.
The analysis is concentrated not only on the constitutional position and political role of the Polish president, but also on the way he was (and is) elected. The Author tries to prove a thesis that the actual political position of the head in the state in Poland depended and still depends not only on constitutional provisions, but also on specific political circumstances, and even the character and personality of the people holding this office.

States, being the fundamental forms of political organization of contemporary societies, are presently undergoing dynamic transformations connected with the processes of globalization and integration, among others in the field of the functions exercised by them, as well as the way of their performing. This has considerable significance, especially in the context of state security, for its assuring to citizens, both in the internal and external dimensions, is still one of the most important objectives of emerging and lasting of such a community. Key is also here the problem of the new comprehension of sovereignty. Among the most essential factors influencing this substance are undoubtedly globalization and regional integration processes. Thus, the 21st century states in the whole world are facing totally different, unknown hitherto challenges, requiring from them to adapt their tasks and, in consequence, also their legal orders to the constantly changing political and legal reality.

The principle of non-interference in another country internal affairs and its role in People’s Republic of China foreign policy

This essay is an attempt to elaborate the role of state sovereignty and the resulting principle of non-interference in the law and practice of international relations. Authors undertook an attempt to map out the course of the evolutionary process of changing the perception of these rules and the relationship between the concept of state sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in the light of the most important acts of international law. Authors found a need to answer the question about whether and when interference in another country policy is legally and actually permissible. Moreover the goal of the article is to describe and to explain the role of non-interference principle in China’s foreign policy after year 1949. In order to achieve the stated assumption, authors analyze its historical determinant (dated back to the mid of nineteenth century) and also following, after the end of World War II, process of seeking support in international law, in face of two imperialism, which were adversarial to each other. Authors also consider the reasons for China’s economic success in Africa in the context of the principle of non-interference, to finally move into the issue regarding the evolution of the sovereignty perception and non-interference policy among Chinese decision-makers.

The article aims at restoring local self-government as a research problem of political theory. In contemporary political science literature, local self-government is not treated as one of its normal, standard research problems. The main obstacle of its ambiguous position within political theory is, as I argue, the forced and imposed apolitical character of local self-government considered as a part of public administration. Despite some degree of organizational, especially institutional and legal, self-determination, the local self-government is not a political, i.e. sovereign entity. However, its non-sovereign status, which is legally established, does not exclude the existence of political potency in it.

The position of the constitutions of the Member States of the European Union – a few remarks against the background of current conditions and the relationship of the Court of Justice of the European Union with national courts

The subject of the study is to demonstrate that the possibilities and prospects of federalizing the European Union are questionable in the context of current facts – pandemia, economic crisis, the internal situation of economically, socially and culturally diverse member states, and as a consequence of a significant legal event – the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany of May 5, 2020. With the above judgment, the German Constitutional Court refused to recognize the binding force in Germany of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union. This may affect the relations of the CJEU with the constitutional courts of the states, including the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, as the vast majority of them recognize the primacy of national constitutions.

State sovereignty and the rule of law: the codification of private law in China

The main issue of this article is a comparison of codification of private law in the Republic of China (1912–1949) with the current fifth attempt to codify civil law in the People’s Republic of China, which is planned to be enacted in 2020. The aim of the paper is to prove that in both the most important factors for drafting new laws were not the internal needs of the state, but the necessity to regulate the position of the country on the international arena. The analysis is based on two main concepts: sovereignty and the rule of law, which are crucial for understanding this issue.

The Constitutional Expression of the Principle of Independence of the State and Religious Associations

The aim of the study is to specify and analyze the expression of the principle of independence of the state and religious associations in contemporary constitutions. This is preceded by an attempt to establish the ideological roots of the principle of independence of the above-mentioned entities. Primarily, the formal-dogmatic and legal-comparative methods were used. The historical and legal method was used as a subsidiary. The texts of all binding constitutions were analyzed in terms of the articulation of the aforementioned principle of religious relations. The principle of independence of the state and religious associations is one of the main normative directives of religious relations in contemporary Poland. It has ideological roots not only in Catholic social teaching, but also in the liberal doctrine. Since the end of the 20th century, it has found a permanent place in the constitutionalism of a number of European secular (non-religious) states and some Latin American states.

The dynamic character of changes we are observing in the contemporary world makes us ponder on the condition of the state – one of the most firmly established institutions, which has been a central unit in the international system so far. We got used to the unquestionably dominant role of the state as the main architect and arbitrator in both internal affairs and international relations. The superior position of the state has been undermined neither by World Wars nor the global economic crisis. At present, the world order based on the system of national states, commonly known as the Westphalian system, seems to be becoming a thing of the past due to huge international transformations, the most important of which is globalization. The multi-level character of changes affects basic spheres of international cooperation and is exerting an increasing influence upon the state, which is gradually losing its omnipotent position. The article presents how the abovementioned processes of change create new conditions of the functioning of the state and erode the foundations of its national identity: territoriality of state authority, sovereignty of the country and its generally secular character. All of them have been quite difficult to implement over the past twenty five years. As a result, the postmodern state is becoming less and less autonomous in its operations and is vulnerable to difficulties it encounters in the conditions of a turbulent environment and uncertain future. Not only the complexity of the international system, but also the fragmentation of the national society in the times of growing threats lead to the instability of traditional support usually offered to the state by a more homogenous national background. In these circumstances, the issue of the future of the national state becomes a subject of scientific research.

EU member states: a new paradigm of sovereignty? An outline of the issue

Political and economic integration of countries taking place within the European Union leads to the modification of certain traditional features of the state’s sovereignty, such as, for example, exclusive judiciary competence within the state’s territory or independent financial, budget and fiscal policy. This calls for the analysis whether, and if so, to what extent, being the EU member state influences the country’s sovereignty. There are two contrasting views regarding this matter: some theoreticians claim that this integration limits or even eliminates the country’s sovereignty, while others argue that countries retain their sovereignty, and integration is the manifestation of sovereignty. The aim of the article is to reflect on these theories in the context of a new paradigm of EU member states’s sovereignty, which takes into account new relations between such agents as an individual, society, nation, or state.