The issue of deregulation in terms of liberalizing the provisions  related to the without legal counsel apprenticeship program access  to the profession of a legal adviser in the context of the provisions  of article 17 of the Constitution RP

The Act of 13th June 2013 to change laws regulating performing certain professions definitely facilitated access to the profession of a legal adviser as well as by opening paths ignoring legal counsel apprenticeship program, as well as by enabling migration between the legal professions. Because of that appeared a question of who is entitled to define the rules for access to the profession of public confidence. In this context, it is important to consider, in particular, article 17 of the Constitution of the Republic Of Poland for professional self-government. The professional self-government of legal advisers is designed to ensure the proper practice of the profession of a legal counsel within the limits of the public interest. The Constitutional Court has scaled that deregulation of the legal profession does not affect the competence and rights of professional self-government referred in article 17 of the Constitution, despite the fact that, in the opinion of the Court, the only body able to form the conditions of access to the profession of a legal adviser is the legislature. The role of professional self-government is the compliance of the established law, in particular the assessment of the candidates for the fulfilment of the statutory requirements for registration on the list of legal advisors, as well as those carrying out the profession of legal adviser. In fact deregulation of access to the profession of a legal adviser has resulted in an increase in the responsibility of the professional self-government for the quality of services provided by legal councils.

Professional Self-Government and the Sejm in the Republic of Lithuania

The basics of professional self-regulation are not enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, in ordinary law and legal doctrine, this professional self-regulation institution was determined thanks to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania. One foprofessional self-regulation is the Lithuanian Bar Association, which is discussed in more detail in this paper. The subject of the analysis are the features of the legal status of the Bar Association in Lithuanian law and legal doctrine and its practical impact on legislative processes.

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.

Changes in the Justice System and the Enforceability of the Judgments of the National Bar of Attorneys at Law’s Disciplinary Courts – Notes in Relation to Article 17 sec. 1 of the Constitution

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the legal problem related to the activity of the disciplinary courts of the National Bar of Attorneys at Law in connection with the amendments enacted in 2017 in the area of the justice system. This issue is immanently connected with the questioning, both by Polish and international jurisprudence, of the status of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court that existed until 14 July 2022 as a court with constitutional features. Therefore, it is significant to answer the question whether the rulings of the disciplinary courts of the National Bar of Attorneys at Law, which have undergone cassation review in the Supreme Court, produce legal effects in the current legal state and should be enforced by the organs of the National Bar of Attorneys at Law. This issue is of fundamental importance for the activity of the National Bar of Attorneys at Law since the Bar’s ability to fulfil the constitutional function of concerning itself with the proper practice of the profession of an attorney at law largely depends on the answer to this question.

The Code of Conduct for European Lawyers (CCBE) in the Polish Legal System

The Code of Conduct for European Lawyers, adopted by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), purports to be adopted as enforceable rules in relation to the cross-border activities of the lawyers. The object of this article is to examine whether the Code is a binding act for attorneys at law and attorneys. The professional self-governments have recognised the Code as a binding act for their members, but the analysis leads to the conclusion that there is no basis for this in Polish law. Furthermore, the Code is not an internal act within the meaning of Article 93 of the Polish Constitution. This means that neither attorneys at law nor attorneys can be held disciplinarily liable for breaches of the Code. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the provisions of the Code, they should be included in the professional codes of ethics of these professional self-governments.

The Nature of Membership in the Professional Self-Governments in the Scope of Article 17 section 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The nature of compulsory membership in professional self-governments associating persons covered by the obligation of public trust is a fact that is questioned from time to time. Opponents of obligatory membership, however, find it difficult to argue for the identification of membership. According to art. 17 sec. 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the basic opinion of professional self-governments is to supervise the proper performance of the profession by their members, which they do on behalf of the state, in the public interest. Therefore, in order to be able to fully perform this supervision, professional self-overnments should be equipped with an authoritative function in relation to all persons covered by the profession on equal terms. The aim of the article is to justify the obligatory membership in the professional self-government using dogmatic and legal methods.