Liability of Police Officers and Other Contemporary Formations for Participation in the Secret Service of the Polish People’s Republic – Constitutional Aspects

The article concerns on a problem of social security and analyzes issue of the change of provisions which regulate pensions of officers of communistic security services, who served their duties after the communistic system collapsed in the Republic of Poland (after the year 1990). The amendment of statutory law has seriously reduced the amount of pensions of indicated above officers. Firstly the author of the essay criticizes the statutory definition (temporal limits) of the totalitarianism, which took place in Poland after the Second World War. It is found that provisions wrongly indicates that communistic totalitarianism ended in 1990, while historians officially claim that it had taken place in 1956. In the second part of the article the author argues that statutory changes seriously violate the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. New, actually binding provisions are unfair, demoralizing and discriminate persons who legally preformed duties in security formations after the year 1990.

Basic presumptions in the judicial election verification process in a democratic state

The election verification process, understood as checking the correctness of their course within the legally prescribed framework, is an essential element of the election procedure in a democratic state. This process in a relatively short period of time, must lead to the declaration of validity or nullity of the elections, which is necessary for confirming or contradicting the democratic legitimacy of elected representatives of power. The complexity of the elections translates into the complexity of the process of their verification, which, in order to simplify it, leads to the use of legally established presumptions in it. The aim of this study is the theoretical analysis of the basic election presumptions of democratic states, i.e. the presumption of validity of elections and the presumption of constitutionality of the election procedure, taking into account the systemic dangers related to their incorrect application.

Meanders in Civilian Control over the Armed Forces in Poland After 1989

The article presents considerations and opinions on the observance of constitutional principles related to civil and democratic control over the armed forces after 1989 in Poland. The control, supremacy, and supervision of the civil authorities over the organs of violence are one of the greatest challenges a democratic state must face. Civilian control of the military is vital today, as NATO has made it a prerequisite for membership. The article aims to present a research problem and answer the question – how each side perceives its role and what function it fulfils in terms of control, authority, and supervision – from the public respect and popularity enjoyed by a given politician, political institution, or armed forces to the administrative or political abilities of the ruling politicians. Civilian control should also be accepted by military commanders and political leaders in power and result from the institutional and legal regulations adopted in a given country and the experience of NATO members. The armed forces are to serve the state, protect its independence, security, and territorial integrity, and therefore maintain political neutrality, not selected political groups (parties) or society. Since there is no uniform model or system of control over the military, there are only common principles necessary to guarantee democratic and civilian control over the armed forces in the state.