The first and the second reform of federalism in the Federal Republic of  Germany – the amendments of the Basic Law of 2006 and 2009 in order to the legislative powers and financial relations of the Union and Länder

The text contains description and analysis of changes of 2006 and 2009 in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany concerning legislative powers and financial relations of federation and länder. The text begins with a description of advancing for over 50 years “process of policies’ merging”, described already in seventies of 20th century as a “trap”. Therefore, it was important to try to resolve the problem by two large amendments of the German constitution in 2006 and 2009 (i.e. the 1st and the 2nd reforms of federalism). The author describes assumptions and instruments applied by the first reform, ie. strengthening of legislative competences of the Union and länder, reducing the number of cases towards which the Bundesrat may apply the absolute veto, limiting so-called “mixed funding”, making “blocking up” of the Union and the countries through new regulation of matters more difficult by requiring the approval of the Bundesrat, as well as the adjustment of the Basic Law to the challenges of membership of Germany in the European Union. In this context the second reform of federalism was also the subject of analysis. The reform amended the system of mutual financial relations of the Union and countries and introduced a so-called “debt brake” (Schuldenbremse) but also limited some solutions which had been introduced three years before.

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.

Public Finances in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997

As assumed in the title, the study is intended to show only the most important, basic, but cardinal significance of public finances on the basis of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. This notion, often used in colloquial terms, requires clarification of its constitutional and statutory meaning in order to illustrate the essence of its adoption and application in relation to the activities of public authorities. In this context, it will also be important to take into account derivative notions resulting also from the Basic Law, closely related to public finances.

Financial Autonomy of Local Government Units in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland – Selected Problems

The scope of this article is to show selected problems concerning constitutional regulations of financial autonomy of self-government units in Poland, in the light of the legislator’s freedom to determine their incomes by bills. It appears that in the light of the current regulations, the freedom of the parliament is too great, which significantly limits the financial independence of local government units. The article will present proposals for changes to Polish constitutional regulations in this area in order to increase the self-government financial autonomy, with reference to the solutions in force in selected European countries. It is necessary to increase the influence of self-government about bills concerning their incomes and expenses, so it should be a constitutional obligation to consult such projects on the forum of the Joint Government and Self-Government Commission. The postulate of transforming the Senate into a Self-Government Chamber is also worth considering.

Checks and Balances in the Budget Procedure in Poland

The article presents the checks and balances in the budget procedure in Poland. In the first place, the article explains the term checks and balances. Next the article discusses the constitutional regulation of the budget procedure and the public authorities that participate in this procedure. These considerations allow to distinguish “budget checks and balances” and describe them from the point of view of the relationship between the public authorities participating in the budget procedure. The article also presents the legal nature of the state budget and the legal norms contained therein, the differences between the state budget and the Budget Act and the issue of the draft budget versus the principle of discontinuation of works of the parliament.