Polish politicians of different political options, especially while proposing new reforms, declare that citizens should have a say in many issues under discussion. In reality, however, instruments of direct democracy stipulated by the Polish constitution (The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, 1997) and laws are not frequently applied (see: people’s initiative, social consultations), both due to Polish people’s low degree of public activity and because of the lack of parliamentary customs and the authorities’ accompanying lack of willingness to work out new solutions by way of serious debate and considering the society’s ambitions and expectations, also those representing positions others than those of the government majority.
The aim of this paper is to discuss the institution of a referendum in Poland and to present the approach of the Polish political class to the institution of a nationwide referendum using the example of the referendum of 6 September 2015. We also discuss the history of this institution in Poland and address the issue of its legal foundations, as well as present arguments of the followers and opponents of this form of direct democracy. It is also necessary to analyse the motives behind the initiating entity’s decision concerning the organisation of a nationwide referendum from a broader perspective and to evaluate its implications in the sphere of politics.

The implementation of the constitutional right of citizens to obtain information about the activities of state authorities, in particular, in the sphere of state security, causes many problems resulting from the application of the Act on the Protection of Classified Information. The measures adopted in the Act, promoting the rights of the community at the expense of the rights of individuals, pose a risk of its instrumental use for political purposes. The reduction of the above-mentioned risk may be supported by a minor correction of the regulations in force, as postulated by the author of the article, which includes an increase in external supervision over the marking of materials containing information intended for protection, which does not undermine the grounds for restricting the transparency of public activities, permitted by the international law and by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, and required from the perspective of public safety. The conclusion is that it is difficult to be optimistic about this area due to the observed reluctance of the ruling elites to voluntarily abandon the tools that give them an advantage in public communication.

Human rights in the constitutions of selected European countries

Nowadays human rights are an essential part of constitutional regulations in the European countries. The very first universal regulation based on the rights of every citizen, was The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen set in 1789. Analysed constitutions of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Latvia, Bohemia, Slovakia and Poland point to the developments of rights of individuals through expanding these rights from the rights of the citizens to the rights of every person on the territory of a particular country. Obviously, the rights concerning exclusively the citizens of a particular country, like for example the right to vote, have still been maintained. A modern catalogue of rights and freedoms of individuals is abundant and expanded by, for example, the right to the constitutional complaint or the right to a clear environment. Nowadays the human rights standards are widely recognised though not always respected. This results from the legal and political practise, in which the scope of the rights of individuals is still being narrowed. One of the reasons are ideological and political changes in particular countries, which are being enforced with the development of civilisation and technology.

Dual Tenure of Executive in Municipalities – Restriction of Civil Rights or Reduction of Pathological Phenomena?

The phenomenon of multiterm mayors has become widespread in Poland, especially after introducing the direct election of the executive in municipalities in 2002. The direct election has given the mayors the dominant position in local politics. The way to limit it has seemed to be the limitation of number of terms in office of the municipal executive bodies to two. In the presented paper the arguments of opponents and supporters of this solution were analyzed. The analysis was made from the perspective of two levels: institutional- legal and socio-political. The aim of the analysis is to show the positives and negatives of the implemented change and the projected effects. The legal basis, its compliance with the constitution and the implications for the active and passive suffrage were analyzed. Also the results for local political systems and for local communities were examined, and it was confronted with the issue of political culture.

The U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence has often delineated the borders of American racial politics. In some way, the Supreme Court decisions reflected economic, political, cultural, and ideological values of the contemporary society. The decision of Plessey v. Ferguson was a symbolic establishment of the separate but equal doctrine. It was also significant from the perspective of American federalism. In the 1950s, several rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court influenced American racial politics and paved the way for changes in the context of the development of civil rights. The decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was victory of the civil rights movement. It was perceived as a model for the subsequent cases. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the right of interposition. It was assumed that the power to declare federal laws unconstitutional applied not to the state but only to federal judiciary.

Ombudsman and His Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Selected Issues)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The experience to date allows us to conclude the activities of the ombudsman institution and the problems of a social, political and legal nature generated in the state by various regulations aimed at eliminating the virus itself and the consequences of its occurrence. The aim of this article is to draw attention to selected problems related to the specificity of the activities of state institutions in the event of a threat to the health safety of Poles, as well as activities undertaken in the area of administration, health protection and economic activity. The author tries to show that the Ombudsman intensified efforts to protect civil rights during the pandemic and pointed to its critical problems.

The European Network of Ombudspersons for Children and its Role in the Protection of Children’s Rights. Selected Issues

The article is devoted to analysing the activities of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children. The experience gained so far allows us to draw conclusions as to the activities of the institution coordinating the activities of ombudspersons for children in Europe and confirms that the exchange of good practices, support and coordination effectively strengthens the protection of children’s rights. This article aims to draw attention to selected problems related to the specificity of the activity of this European institution, which integrates not only the institutions of children’s rights ombudspersons but also other institutions established to protect the rights of the youngest in the situation of multifaceted threats of the modern world. The author tries to show that the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children undertakes intensified efforts to protect children’s rights and is effective in this respect.