- Author:
Halina Zięba Załucka
- E-mail:
hzalucka@onet.eu
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Rzeszowski
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1646-3141
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
241-257
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.02.13
- PDF:
ppk/54/ppk5413.pdf
Constitutional Duty to Obey the Law vs Civil Disobedience
Article 83 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland states that “Everyone is obliged to obey the law of the Republic of Poland”. The obligation to obey the law cannot, however, imply absolute obedience to any law established by the state. That means that no state has the authority to violate human rights, because they are above the state law. Therefore, as the author stresses, in every modern constitution the right of sovereignty to defend values such as sovereignty, division of powers or human rights is guaranteed. The main thesis of the article indicates that a bad law may be the beginning of civil disobedience, understood as a symbolic, intentional manifestation of disobedience to the law carried out in the name of the conviction of its validity and superiority of other values and non-legal norms, including the possibility of incurring negative legal consequences – sanctions. Civil insubordination is therefore an instrument which, taking into account all its limitations, can be used in countries with democratic systems as a guarantee of protection of civil rights against the action of the authorities. Our constitution does not know the concept of civil disobedience or the older right of resistance. In Article 2 it is clearly emphasized that the Republic of Poland is a democratic legal state and the observance of the law should be understood as such conduct of citizens. and state bodies, which is in accordance with the binding regulations (Article 7 of the Constitution – the principle of legalism). Another issue raised in the article is the problem of justification of civil disobedience. The author does not share the view on the justification of civil disobedience. If the justification of civil insubordination entails the postulate of impunity, the concept of civil disobedience would become contradictory. At the same time he stresses that legalism cannot dictate absolute obedience to the existing law.
- Author:
Ondřej Felcman
- E-mail:
ondrej.felcman@uhk.cz
- Institution:
Univerzita Hradec Králové, Filozofická fakulta
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2706-201X
- Author:
Tomáš Hradecký
- E-mail:
tomas.hradecky@uhk.cz
- Institution:
Univerzita Hradec Králové, Filozofická fakulta
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4488-2266
- Year of publication:
2019
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
32-71
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/hso190403
- PDF:
hso/23/hso2303.pdf
- License:
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative
Commons Attribution license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Parliament and parliamentarism in building and transforming Czechoslovak statehood
The study focuses on the importance of the Parliament’s involvement in construction of the Czechoslovak state. With the exception of the German occupation, as the legislature of the Czechoslovak Republic, the National Assembly played an important role in affecting its republican and democratic character. The article discusses two of the most important stages of the formation of the Czechoslovak statehood. First is the Interwar period when the Czechoslovak statehood demonstrated features typical of parliamentary democracy with assumed parliamentary power, followed by the 1960s when the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks developed on a federal level.
- Author:
Tomasz Słomka
- E-mail:
tomasz.slomka@uw.edu.pl
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Warszawski
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9226-5828
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
217-232
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.04.11
- PDF:
ppk/56/ppk5611.pdf
Judicial Power in a Crisis of Constitutional Democracy
The article is devoted to the problems of changing the position of the judiciary in Poland in the conditions of crisis of constitutional democracy. Two basic research hypotheses are verified. First of all, after 2015, Poland was one of the countries revising its liberal-democratic political foundations. Such foundations undoubtedly include: the rule of law, the principle of constitutionalism and the principle of division and balance of power. Secondly, the political position of the judiciary has been defined in the liberal-democratic Constitution of the Republic of Poland in a way appropriate for the protection of the above mentioned values, but the political practice shows that the lack of proper will to implement the constitutional provisions (using the arithmetic advantage in parliament without the recognition of minority rights) may violate the „backbone” of constitutional democracy.
- Author:
Diana Sawicka
- E-mail:
diana.sawicka@poczta.onet.pl
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Marii Curie- Skłodowskiej w Lublinie
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0291-5672
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
309-323
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.04.16
- PDF:
ppk/56/ppk5616.pdf
Limitations of the Property Right in Polish Constitutional Law
The right to property as an implicit subjective right is not an absolute and unlimited. The constitutionally guaranteed right to property may, in certain cases and under appropriate conditions, be restricted. According to the Article 31(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the necessity to introduce limitations in the exercise of constitutional freedoms and rights, including the right to property, is only possible if the criterion of a democratic state is taken into account. The possibility of statutory and non-violent interference in the right to property was also expressed in Article 64 of the Constitution, according to which everyone is entitled to the right to property. The assessment of the admissibility of interference in the right to property takes place in the light of undefined in a complete manner the principle of proportionality and the principle of the essence of the property right, which affects the manner of resolving the issue of the constitutionality of a given limitation of this right.
- Author:
Piotr Czeczot
- E-mail:
piotr.czeczot@o2.pl
- Institution:
Uniwersytet w Białymstoku
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0137-8526
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
443-459
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.04.24
- PDF:
ppk/56/ppk5624.pdf
Second Amendment to the American Constitution. Genesis, Targets and Objectives
The author will try to trace the genesis of the Second Amendment in the context of the American constitution process and the influence of other legal acts on the final content of the provision in question. What’s more the author will analyze the ideas that accompanied the Founding Fathers and which led to the creation of the United States Constitution. The author will analyze the objectives of the Second Amendment and the ideological assumptions that underpin it, including the issue of enabling citizens personal defense and the protection of private property, as well as the issue of guaranteeing citizens an effective tool to resist the state apparatus as a guarantee of citizens’ freedom as well as to prevent possible tyranny. Finally, the author will refer to the issue of culture of gun ownership in the USA and Poland.
- Author:
Jan Waskan
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego w Bydgoszczy
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9321-9196
- Year of publication:
2019
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
76-88
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.5604/cip201906
- PDF:
cip/17/cip1706.pdf
Roman Franciszek Rybarski (1887-1942) należał do wybitnych teoretyków i działaczy Narodowej Demokracji. Pozostawił szereg prac z zakresu ekonomii, prawa i polityki. Wśród tych ostatnich szczególne miejsce zajmują Naród, jednostka i klasa oraz Siła i prawo. Był prezesem Klubu Narodowego w Sejmie w latach 1928-1935 oraz przywódcą frakcji liberalnej zwanej grupą „starych” lub „profesorską” w Stronnictwie Narodowym. W artykule przedstawiono jego poglądy dotyczące problematyki ustrojowej. W pierwszym okresie istnienia niepodległej Rzeczypospolitej do 1922 r. Rybarski zdecydowanie opowiada się za ustrojem demokracji parlamentarnej i ideą państwa narodowego. Wybory 1922 r. i porażka w Zgromadzeniu Narodowym przy wyborze prezydenta Gabriela Narutowicza oraz tragiczne skutki jego śmierci powodują, że Rybarski, jak i inni działacze endeccy, dostrzegają że do niedawna tak bliski im parlamentaryzm staje się zgubny dla Polski. Rozpoczyna się jego krytyka, Rybarski podkreślał, że konstytucja doprowadza do krańcowości i absurdu zasadę rządów parlamentarnych. Niezadowolenie przeniosło się na wszystkie klasy i warstwy. Domagano się zmian, które stawały się koniecznością chwili.
- Author:
Andrzej Bisztyga
- E-mail:
a.bisztyga@wpa.uz.zgora.pl
- Institution:
University of Zielona Góra
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6579-9656
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
49-60
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.05.03
- PDF:
ppk/57/ppk5703.pdf
The purpose of the article is to conduct an axiological reflection using the notion of public interest, on preparation and the procedure for amending the constitution. The article provides a theoretical attempt to capture and place public interest in the broadly socially and publicly understood process of constitutional change. This attempt is not dictated solely by the desire to conduct theoretical – legal and intellectual speculation. This is supported by the increasing voices of the need to amend the existing constitution, which are often superficial, populist and de facto formulated from the position of the supremacy of the state over the individual. The time-varying connotations of the general public interest clause are related to the axiology of selected constitutional principles. The public interest, understood at a given moment in the development of social life, should be a determinant of the process broadly, i.e. both the social and the legislative sense of the constitutional amendment. Similarly, the very direction of constitutional changes should be an expression of social interest.
- Author:
Grzegorz Maroń
- E-mail:
gmaron@ur.edu.pl
- Institution:
University of Rzeszow
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3861-9103
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
269-282
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.05.20
- PDF:
ppk/57/ppk5720.pdf
The article is a comparative study of constitutional references to natural law, with a particular emphasis on the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The findings presented in the study are both of qualitative and quantitative nature. References to natural law, recognized in the constitutions of 48 countries in the world, relate almost exclusively to fundamental human rights and freedoms. Usually, the constitution-maker assigns the title “natural” or “inherent” to all fundamental rights of person or to some of them. In none of the Basic Laws, natural law has been included into formal sources of law, nor its hierarchical relation to positive law shown. No constitution specifies a definite concept of natural law. The authors of the constitutions, speaking generally about natural rights, have not wanted to engage in philosophical and legal disputes accompanying the category of ius naturale.
- Author:
Renata Świrgoń-Skok
- E-mail:
rskok@ur.edu.pl
- Institution:
University of Rzeszow
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2635-6462
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
283-293
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.05.21
- PDF:
ppk/57/ppk5721.pdf
In the presented article, I try to answer the question whether in the Roman state there is a possibility to find the roots of the constitution. In Roman state the constitution as a separate normative act did not exist, the separate jurisdiction of public law was not created, and a constitutional law was primarily based on the custom and political practice. However, in the preserved source material, among others, Cicero’s and Polybius’ statements can be found, which refer to the political issues. On the basis of their analyses, I try to prove that the ideas of constitutionalism and constitution, of course in a substantive sense, date back to the ancient Rome.
- Author:
Sabina Grabowska
- E-mail:
s.grabowska@ur.edu.pl
- Institution:
University of Rzeszow
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0530-708X
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
339-349
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.05.25
- PDF:
ppk/57/ppk5725.pdf
The subject of the article is a petition, or rather the right to submit it, understanding the concept of petition, as well as the nature of the petition and its relationship with the concepts of a complaint and a proposal in the context of Art. 63 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. The notion of the right to petition in both narrow and broad terms has been analyzed. The position of the doctrine on this issue was presented.
- Author:
Szymon Pawłowski
- Institution:
University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
36-47
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/athena.2020.67.03
- PDF:
apsp/67/apsp6703.pdf
The purpose of the article is to present a proposal to amend the Basic Law and to indicate its close connection with the nature of the political (system) decision. The amendment to the Basic Law may be extended or limited. Possible legal constructions were carried out in the article. This would determine the conditions of Poland’s participation in the euro area, which are acceptable from the Polish constitution’s point of view.
- Author:
Krzysztof Urbaniak
- E-mail:
krzysztof_urbaniak@wp.pl
- Institution:
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0735-8924
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
99-111
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.07
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5807.pdf
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which entered into force in 2011, introduced completely new regulations on the dissolution of Parliament and the duration of its mandate. It repealed the royal prerogative under which the queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister, had the power to dissolve Parliament at any time, which would ultimately lead to parliamentary elections. Despite the introduction of a fixed parliamentary term, constitutional practice, in particular the precedents of 2017 and 2019, have shown that the fundamental objectives of the new act, i.e. to ensure the stability of governments and to prevent the Prime Minister’s manipulation of the election date for political gain, can be easily undermined. This article attempts to analyze and evaluate the functioning to date of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 in the UK constitutional system and to examine the possible implications of repealing the Act for the functioning of the UK Constitution.
- Author:
Bożena Dziemidok-Olszewska
- E-mail:
bozena.dziemidok-olszewska@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl
- Institution:
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2944-5073
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
115-126
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.08
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5808.pdf
The aim of the article is to indicate the prevalent features of the Polish process of constitutional and systemic changes in Poland in 1989-1997. It was assumed that the Polish process of constitutionalization was characterized by a number of specific features which were interrelated and dependent on each another. The aim of the paper is to recognize the phased character of the changes as the first feature of the political transformation process in Poland, whereas compromise should be regarded as its basic attribute. Other specific features (presented in the subsequent parts of the article) include: evolutionary, temporary, and pragmatic nature of the process.
- Author:
Tomasz Słomka
- E-mail:
tomasz.slomka@uw.edu.pl
- Institution:
University of Warsaw
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9226-5828
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
167-182
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.13
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5813.pdf
The article concerns the dilemmas of building Polish constitutional identity after 1989. The hypothesis assumes that after the initial twenty years of consolidation and Europeanization of constitutional democracy, there was an attempt at undermining the adopted political order. The policy of the ruling camp after 2015 is a striking proof of this crisis.
- Author:
Adam Doliwa
- E-mail:
adoliwa@uwb.edu.pl
- Institution:
University of Białystok
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0752-7708
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
367-378
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.30
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5830.pdf
The subject of the article is an analysis of the impact of the constitutional principle of social justice on the understanding of the principle of equity in civil law and, consequently, on the practical application of regulations that contain the general clause governing the principles of social coexistence. Assuming a universal nature of the axiological basis of the legal system in Poland, and the radiation of constitutional principles and values onto statutory law, the author, using a method involving analytical and functional analysis of legal texts and court rulings, comes to the conclusion that adjudication in civil cases should, to some extent, in addition to protection of individual rights and interests, concern the protection of social interests.
- Author:
Marcin Dąbrowski
- E-mail:
marcin.dabrowski@uwm.edu.pl
- Institution:
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8780-9715
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
405-416
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.33
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5833.pdf
The paper presents four problems which constitute the most important problems related to the functioning of local government in Poland. The first issue concerns the unfinished reform of the political system. The author finds that the legislator did not implement fully the assumptions concerning the creation and functioning of local governments which are determined in the provisions of the Polish Constitution of 1997. In consequence, a contemporary political system is full of internal contradictions and does not function properly. Next, it was indicated in the work that the legislator interferes too much in the independence of local government units. Too many acts, which regulate duties and procedures, limit the autonomy of local government bodies which should determine their duties and objectives and allocate financial resources to their implementation. Third, the author finds that the permanent underfinancing of local government units poses a very serious problem. The system of financing is outdated and does not correspond to contemporary needs of local communities, which results in a decrease in investments and development and an increase in debt. Finally, the article discusses the issue of excessive politicization of local governments. The author finds that transferring political disputes from the central level to the local one is very detrimental and has a negative influence on the development and functioning of local governments.
- Author:
Leszek Elak
- E-mail:
l.elak@akademia.mil.pl
- Institution:
War Studies University in Warsaw
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5255-9768
- Author:
Paweł Zając
- E-mail:
p.zajac@akademia.mil.pl
- Institution:
War Studies University in Warsaw
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2188-5720
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
429-448
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.35
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5835.pdf
The article concerns the issues of state security both in legal terms and from the perspective of security science. In the first part, it presents a proposal for understanding the concept of state security based on the Polish Constitution. The article is also a contribution to the discussion on the correctness of terminology relating to the analyzed issue. The second part concerns the analysis of a new military phenomenon which is a hybrid war. The purpose of the considerations is to show its impact on state security.
- Author:
Mariusz Bidziński
- E-mail:
mariusz@bidzinski.pl
- Institution:
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3646-8997
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
489-496
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.39
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5839.pdf
The regulations concerning the definition of the official language at the constitutional level have not been unified in the constitutions of European Union countries. The importance of a language, the level of its protection, and care for the language are immanently connected with the cultural awareness of a given nation, its historical conditions, national aspirations, and other factors allowing to distinguish it from other subjects. The number of languages used in individual regions of the EU depends on social migrations, the uniformity of nationalities, historical conditions, as well as the level and directions of patriotic aspirations in a given society. Therefore, the attempts to impose on the members of the EU the adoption of the unified solutions, which de facto imply - in the case of most of them - the need to amend the constitution, is a demand that now seems completely unfeasible.
- Author:
Maciej Milczanowski
- E-mail:
mmilczanowski@ur.edu.pl
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Rzeszowski
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2322-2074
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
593-601
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.48
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5848.pdf
The Constitution - the Basic Law is the foundation of the organization in a given country. It defines the general principles of the functioning of internal relations, the competences of its most important elements, and the fundamental rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen2. And the strategy can be perceived as the general outlines of the actions of competent leaders determining the far-reaching aim. It is characterized by a long-term strategic perspective, combining the set of with the strive for solutions that are beneficial not only for themselves, their surroundings, and supporters but also for the paradigm of the common good. Societies during, or immediately after the conflict, seek stabilization. That can be ensured by actions based on a strategy that takes into account the fundamental principles of internal relations. Combining those two paradigms, the Constitution, taking into account the rights of minorities, guaranteeing civil liberties and human rights, may be the basic factor of the strategy of the competent leader, aiming to post-conflict stabilization.
- Author:
Robert Zapart
- E-mail:
robert.zapart@onet.poczta.pl
- Institution:
University of Rzeszów
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3590-1189
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
633-642
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.52
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5852.pdf
The implementation of the constitutional right of citizens to obtain information about the activities of state authorities, in particular, in the sphere of state security, causes many problems resulting from the application of the Act on the Protection of Classified Information. The measures adopted in the Act, promoting the rights of the community at the expense of the rights of individuals, pose a risk of its instrumental use for political purposes. The reduction of the above-mentioned risk may be supported by a minor correction of the regulations in force, as postulated by the author of the article, which includes an increase in external supervision over the marking of materials containing information intended for protection, which does not undermine the grounds for restricting the transparency of public activities, permitted by the international law and by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, and required from the perspective of public safety. The conclusion is that it is difficult to be optimistic about this area due to the observed reluctance of the ruling elites to voluntarily abandon the tools that give them an advantage in public communication.