The constitutional principle of equality based upon Act of 4 November 2016 on the support of pregnant women and families „For life”

This contribution presents issue connected to implementation of the constitutional principle of equality and prohibition of discrimination within Act of 4 November 2016 on the support of pregnant women and families „For life”. Author brings regulations concluded in the content of the indicated act closer, thereafter he performs a presentation of the principle of equality and prohibition of discrimination, with an aid of jurisdiction and doctrine standpoints. Final part of contribution consists confrontation between mentioned principle and pointed prohibition with this part of the „For Life” Act, which sketch presumptions allowing to apply for one time benefit, in the amount of 4 000 zloty, for giving birth to alive child, who were diagnosed with severe and irreversible impairment or with incurable illness endangering their life, under a condition that woman would stay under medical healthcare no later than from 10th week of pregnancy till labour.

The constitutional principle of equal access to health care services  and its statutory implementation in Polish law. Selected problems

The right to health contained in art. 68 paragraph 1 of the Constitution is one of the most important human rights. This provision constitutes the so-called public subjective right, which has its equivalent in the constitutional roles and obligations of public authorities, involving the proper settlement of the issues in the laws relating to the protection of health. In turn, art. 68 paragraph 2 of the Constitution reads that citizens, regardless of their financial situation, public authorities provide equal access to health care services financed from public funds. The implementation of this principle in the public health care system is based on the principle of ensuring equal access for all qualified entities to health services. The constitutional principle of equality does not promise the obligation of public authorities to provide free but only equal health care for all citizens, which must be guaranteed by public funds. The implementation of equal access to benefits is limited with imperfect regulation in the health sector, primarily due to insuf- ficient funds allocated to healthcare.

Basis of equality in employments – constitutional presentation 

The present article is an attempt to describe understanding the concept of equality, both in doctrine, and in the chosen previous judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal formed over a distance area of entire period of stating. In the study a date and meaning of the basis of equality, its subjective scope, the issue of the relation between the basis of equality and other chosen constitutional principles, and criteria justifying the departure from the basis of equality were clarified. The author of the article is relating deliberations concerning the basis of equality to the issue of employments and the sphere of the employment. Issues of the basis of equality were presented in the field of the labor law through examples taken from the Constitutional Tribunal rulings and on this land they were considering whether a diversifying the situation of employees wasn’t based on any and groundless criteria, and hence whether it didn’t reach the breach of the principle of equality.

Positive discrimination in the military – unnecessary privilege or essential need?

The main issue discussed in the article is the participation of women in the military and the possibility of preferential treatment for them. Women have served in the military in different roles for a long time, but they are still a minority. Both the UN and NATO are taking actions to increase the participation of women in the military and encourage member states to do so. As data from NATO indicates, the share of female active-duty personnel in Polish armed forces is rather low (7 percent). The purpose of this article is to analyze the constitutional provisions guaranteeing gender equality (Articles 32 and 33) and to assess whether new, preferential provisions for women in the military should be introduced. This could mean positive discrimination (compensatory preference).

It is clear that the prohibition of discrimination and the principle of equality are one of the most important principles of human rights. Today, since the number of discrimination issues has increased in the usual flow of life, the matter of how far the valid law can protect individual, who constitutes the core of the society from discrimination is controversial. In Turkish Constitution, there is no independent article which orders the prohibition of discrimination. Cases which relate to the discrimination are considered with the principle of equality in Article 10. The scope of the present paper is to show how the prohibition of discrimination is embodied in Turkish Constitutional Court’s approach and its historical background. Secondarily, the Turkish Constitutional Court’s approach regarding these issues are emphasized and to what extent the decisions given by the Turkish Constitutional Court are similar to the decisions given by ECHR are argued. Comparative and historical method will be used in this paper.

Ombudsman Institutions in Universities and the Principle of Their Autonomy

The constitutionally guaranteed principle of autonomy of universities, necessary for the implementation of the mission of the system of higher education and science means, among other things, that the authorities of higher education institutions must be left with the sphere of free decision on matters of internal organization. In view of the problems that occur in the life of academic communities, related, among others, to the implementation of the principle of equality and non-discrimination, the need to provide special protection for persons with disabilities, the authors reflect on the need to create ombudsman institutions in universities, indicating the principles on the basis of which such bodies could be created and operate in such a way that it could be reconciled with the principle of autonomy of universities.

Material Jurisdiction of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection in Light of Art. 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The goal of the paper is to present the material jurisdiction of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection in light of the constitutional principle of entity equality. The regulations of Art. 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland include the principle of equality, which also covers entrepreneurs. In Poland, in addition to administrative courts that control the legality of administrative decisions, there is also the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection, which hears cases concerning administrative decisions from a material perspective. The analysis of the regulations indicates that the jurisdiction of this court has been determined without justification. The paper proves the thesis that the material jurisdiction of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection has been determined arbitrarily by the legislator violating the constitutional principle of equality. The following methods were applied: dogmatic-legal and analytic-synthetic.

The Principle of Equality in Elections to Bodies of Self- Governments of Public Trust Professions

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the constitutional principles relating to elections to public authorities should mutatis mutandis be the benchmark for elections to the bodies of self-government of public trust professions. The principle of equality of the electoral law is of particular importance in this area. The analysis has been carried out on the basis of the Polish Constitution, the case law of the Constitutional Tribunal and the laws and internal acts regarding professional self-governments. It follows that a breach of the principle of equality in the internal acts of a professional self-government may be grounds for declaring them unlawful. Whereas, laws concerning these self-governments should enable the scrutiny of elections. The considerations lead to the conclusion that topics combining the position of professional self-governments and democratic standards of the election law can be a field of interesting research in the domain of constitutional law.

Establishing the Right to Abortion in the Constitutional Principles of Privacy, Equality and Freedom in the US and the Arguments of the Constitutional Tribunal of October 22, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling was pivotal in American women’s fight for the right to abortion. It was based on the constitutional principle of the right to privacy and was criticized that it would be more appropriate to base it on the principle of equality. The aim of the article is to compare the way in which the U.S. Supreme Court rulings legalizing abortion have been argued with the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s 2020 ruling limiting the already restrictive right to abortion. The article analyzes the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal and presents its potential effects in terms of women’s rights, gender equality and freedom. In its conclusion, the article points to possible legal solutions to the abortion dilemma and addresses the issue of gender discrimination.

The Right to Free Legal Aid in the Light of the Constitutional Principle of Equality

The aim of the article is to analyze the solutions enabling the use of legal aid in the light of the principle of equality under the Art. 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. There is an inconsistency between the aid at the judicial and pre-court stage. Theoretically, both forms of legal aid are aimed at people in a difficult financial situation. In practice, aid at the pre-court stage can be provided to both poor and very wealthy people, as the assessment of the inability to bear the costs of paid legal aid is based only on the subjective belief of these people. On the other hand, the grounds for obtaining legal aid at the judicial stage must be clearly demonstrated by the person applying for the appointment of a professional lawyer.