Election of Constitutional Judges. The comparative analysis of Polish regulation

The article focuses on whole scope of election of constitutional judges. Topic includes requirements which should be meet by member of Constitutional Tribunal in european legal culture as well as an comparative analysis of election by entitled authority. The most important reason of fundamental significance of this process is power of constitutional court, mainly review of conformity with the fundamental Law. That is why, entitlements to elect constitutional court justice is so relevant for political and of course legal system.

Specificity of the constitutional arrangements in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Solutions imposed in peace agreement signed in November 1995 in Dayton, Ohio, USA, make the system of Bosnia and Herzegovina doubtlessly the most unusual, and not only in Europe. Starting from the collegiate three-member heads of state, through specific design of the parliament, elected similarly as head of state in not fully democratic election, ending on the Constitutional Court, which includes foreign nationals. Particular attention should be paid also to the atypical state structure, based on the asymmetric units, to an equally unique condominium, as well as to the institution of the Special Representative of the international community, who holds nearly unlimited control over all government bodies at all levels. All these features distinguish Bosnia and Herzegovina, and make that its system eludes of a clear and simple analysis

Competences of the Lithuanian Constitutional Court in so-called „other matters”

The article concerns competence of the Lithuanian Constitutional Court in so-called „other matters”. They include presenting the opinion (of conclusion) in four cases: 1) whether during choices of the president or members of the Seimas the infringed election act didn’t stay, 2) whether the state of health of the president permits him still to perform its duties, 3) whether international agreements of the Lithuanian Republic aren’t contrary to the constitution, 4) whether members of the Seimas and officials, towards which undertaken litigation proceedings stayed, infringed the constitution with one’s specific acts. One should however emphasize that an inspection of norms, as connections is a base of the scope of the cognition of the Lithuanian Constitutional Court oneself with the protection of the precedence of the constitution.

The Constitutional Court has functioned in Hungary since 1989. Its activity shaped the frame of democratic state of law and influenced the constitutional order in Hungary. In 2011 the National Assembly passed the new Act on the Constitutional Court that replaced a previous one from 1989. The provisions of the Act and the Fundamental Law reduced the role and position of the Court as a separated body in the tripartite power division. The reduction of competences is accompanied by the diminishing of the concluded cases as well.

On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared independence. Over twelve years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the issue of universal, international acknowledgment of Kosovo still has not been resolved. The foundation for the establishment of the Republic of Kosovo was international society, which created the legal framework for the future statehood of Kosovo. The problem of the functioning of the constitutional judiciary was one of the key issues during the creation of the basic law of the Republic of Kosovo. This article s to analyze the constitutional position of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo in the state system established under the Constitution of 2008. It presents the composition of the Court, its competence, and principles of organization and functioning. The solution applied in the Kosovo basic law fits into the broadly understood model of the European constitutional judiciary.

The operation of the Constitutional Court in Albania as a determinant of the EU accession process

The place of the Constitutional Court in Albania’s political system, the significance attributed to this institution and most of all the possibilities of fulfilment of its constitutional role are the subject of the analysis taken up in this paper. It addresses in particular the impact of the manner of operation of the Constitutional Court in the context of Albania’s European aspirations. Moreover, the study emphasises a thesis that Albania’s efforts to obtain membership of the European Union have been an essential element strengthening the process of Albania’s political, social and economic transformation.

Belgium as a Laboratory of Bipolar Federalism

Having moved away from unitarism, Belgium is described as a federal state of communities and regions. A large number of interpreters of the Belgian Constitution believe that federalism is an essential element of its constitutional identity. However, a more detailed analysis is needed to interpret the political system of this state. The breakdown of the unity of the political community at the national level as well as the doubt about the existence of a political nation are of crucial importance. A striking identity and growing separateness of the two linguistic groups, Flemish and Walloon, are decisive factors behind the originality of the political system of modern Belgium. In the article, I point out that the distinctive feature of the Belgian federalism involves the bipolarity and domination of the constitutional mechanism based on co-determination and co-operation of the two linguistic groups as the actual subjects of the power in the state. The predominance of this mechanism has significant systemic effects, including the renunciation of reforms to rationalize parliamentarism. The article also shows the importance of the Constitutional Court, hitherto underestimated, in maintaining the Belgian unity.

Ochrona grup wymagających szczególnego traktowania w orzecznictwie Sądu Konstytucyjnego Litwy

Orzecznictwo Litewskiego Sądu Konstytucyjnego miało istotny wpływ na wzmocnienie demokracji, praworządności i stabilności porządku konstytucyjnego na Litwie. Fundamentem każdego demokratycznego państwa, gdzie jest ważna praworządność, jest poszanowanie praw człowieka. Ponadto często podkreśla się, że sytuacja najsłabszych członków społeczeństwa odzwierciedla rzeczywisty poziom postępu i demokracji w danym państwie. Dlatego artykuł ten ma na celu ukazanie, w jaki sposób Sąd Konstytucyjny na Litwie przyczynił się do wzmocnienia ochrony osoby należącej do grupy osób wymagających szczególnego traktowania.

The article critically analyses the models of the constitutionality inspection adopted in Portugal and in Poland. For this purpose the comparative method has been applied, comparing Portuguese and Polish approaches. Theoretical aspects of the constitutionality inspection are discussed and the notions of the centralised and the diffuse inspection model are introduced. Then the paper analysis the actual inspection practices in both countries discussing the diffuse and concentrated inspection separately. Constitutional rules pertaining to the direct effect of the constitutions, constitutional jurisdiction of judges and operation of the constitutional courts are considered. The article concludes that in both countries different models of constitutionality inspection operate. In Portugal operates the mixed constitutionality inspection model while in Poland, despite views advocating for permissibility of the diffuse control, the centralised model functions.

The article presents the results of a comparative study focusing on the right to conscientious objection in constitutions of modern states. This right is primarily associated with military service. In approximately a dozen constitutions, it stands as an independent, general right to conscientious objection. The constitutional scope of the given right is typically broad, with lawmakers seldom specifying the sources or conditions for its exercise. The contentious nature of the analysed right causes its explicit challenge in several constitutions. Case law, especially that of constitutional courts, reveals that the normative presence and the specifics of the right to conscientious objection within a particular legal system may not necessarily originate directly from constitutional provisions. Court decisions rendered in various countries sometimes attribute a constitutional character to this right, even when the fundamental law does not explicitly articulate it. Conversely, there are occasional restrictive interpretations of unequivocal constitutional provisions regarding conscientious objection.