Extraordinary measures in the event situations  of particular danger in cyberspace

In the article the Authors presented a problem of extraordinary measures in the event situations of particular danger in cyberspace. The analysis of this issue is made on the basis of constitutional and legal solutions (Act of martial law, Act of the state of emergency, Act of the state of natural disaster). The Authors refered to the concept of cyberspace and classified the risks in this area. The also assessed the appropriateness of the measures adopted by the legislature.

Whether the Electoral Code of 5th January 2011 could be changed during the emergency state? Comments based on the provision of the Article 228 section 6 of the Polish Constitution

The article deals with the question, whether the limitation of particular laws’ amendments, sourced from the provision of the Article 228 section 6 of the Polish Constitution, covers the provisions of the Electoral Code or could that Code be changed during the state of emergency. The question is especially significant, because the above mention provision uses term of ‘electoral ordinance’ which is not used in the title of that Code. Formal and strict reconsideration of that’s question could mislead us to the conclusion, which says that the Codes’ changes are acceptable during the state of emergency. The Author, falsifying that thesis, advocates in favor of other conception, which explicitly express that neither the Codes’ nor its executives acts’ changes are acceptable during the state of emergency. The same limitation binds all legislative works connected with those legal acts, which shall be suspended.

The relationship rules limiting the rights and freedoms of man and citizen  in emergencies and in the state of normal functioning of the state

The issue of permissibility of limitation of the freedoms and rights of persons and citizens in extraordinary measures causes a lot of problems. They are consequence the imposition two different regulations relative the limitations: the general regulation appearing from article 31 paragraph 3 Constitution and the special regulation including in the Chapter XI Constitution concerning exclusively the extraordinary measures. The answer for the question, when and in which circumstances it shall adapt the special rules concerning the limitation of the freedoms and rights in extraordinary measures and when the general regulations appears from article 31 paragraph 3 Constitution, depends on a few matters. Firstly, it depends on the type of introducing extraordinary measure.Secondly, it depends on the type of the freedom or right, which it have to be limited. The next problem, it is the method of interpretation and applying the rules concerning the limitations. In this area, the rule of proportionality in interpretation of the Constitutional Tribunal is of great importance.

The inspection of regulations extraordinary states  in Constitution Republic of Poland rules

In legislation of each democratic country of law have to be regulations concerned extraordinary situations. Very important think is the regulations don`t violate rights and civic liberties more than absolutely necessary and state use this regulations only in really extraordinary situations. Constitution Republic of Poland provided in IX chapter named “Extraordinary situations” three kinds of such situations: Marshall law, state of emergency and state of disaster. Each of this situations is also regulate by separated act. Polish regulations in this scope are generally enough secure rights and civic liberties and secure the state by danger abuse of authority.

When in 2020 the World Health Organization announced a COVID-19 contagious disease pandemic, it was clear that governments must take actions to limit the consequences of pandemia. Poland was one of the first to introduce far-reaching measures, limiting freedom of movement and closing an increasing number of business and activities. The Polish Constitution contains potential extraordinary measures, including the provision for declaring a “state of natural disaster”, but the Polish government has refrained from enacting it. Instead, it is based on a “state of epidemic”, which is not provided for in the Constitution as the legal ground for limiting human rights. The purpose of this study is to answer the question whether human rights restrictions introduced during the epidemic have a sufficient legal basis from the point of view of the Polish Constitution and the resulting principles.

Regulation of emergency states in the Republic of Estonia and the COVID-19 pandemic

There are two types of emergency states distinguished by the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia: state of emergency and state of war. They have been sparsely regulated at the level of the Constitution, leaving detailed issues to statutory regulation. The decision in this regard requires the cooperation of parliament with the authorities of executive power, i.e. the president and the government. The threat to the health and lives of citizens posed by a coronavirus pandemic is not a circumstance justifying the imposition of a state of emergency, let alone a state of war as stipulated in §§128–129 of the Constitution. Thus, the Estonian authorities in March 2020 decided to apply the mechanism of §87 section 8 of the Constitution.

The constitutional right to security with regards to initiation of the state of emergency on the border of the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Belarus

The article has been prepared to present the constitutional approach to the security problem with regards to the initiation of the state of emergency on the border of the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Belarus. The publication indicates the relationship between security regulations and constitutional regulations, makes a preliminary analysis of actions taken by the Republic of Belarus, and also indicates a cause-and-effect relationship in the context of regulating the introduction of a state of emergency in a situation of a special security threat.

The fight against a pandemic, which is a form of natural disaster, is always connected with limiting constitutional freedoms and human and civil rights. Due to the emergence of the coronavirus epidemic in Poland, a number of legal regulations have been adopted to combat it. The adopted regulations are restrictive and significantly limit the exercise of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and rights. This article analyzes the limitations of rights and freedoms introduced during the pandemic in Poland, and in particular the manner of their implementation, and assesses the process from the point of view of violating the basic standards of human rights protection. The results of the analysis lead to the conclusion that despite the substantive justification of many restrictions, the manner of their introduction violates the basic standards of human rights protection and raises fundamental doubts from the point of view of the compliance of the introduced solutions with the Constitution.

Ochrona bezpieczeństwa państwa w cyberprzestrzeni jako przesłanka uzasadniająca ograniczenie korzystania z konstytucyjnych wolności i praw

Artykuł odnosi się do cyberbezpieczeństwa państwa jako przesłanki pozwalającej na ingerencję w sferę wolności praw i wolności jednostki. Jego celem jest wskazanie okoliczności uzasadniających ograniczanie korzystania ze swobód obywatelskich, a także zasad temu towarzyszących. Konstytucyjne wolności i prawa nie są absolutne, w związku z czym w przypadku szczególnego zagrożenia mogą być ograniczane, nie może to mieć jednak charakteru dowolnego i być wykorzystywane do walki politycznej. Prawodawca wyraźnie wskazuje kiedy i przez kogo mogą być wprowadzane stosowne ograniczenia, a kiedy ingerencja jest niedopuszczalna. Rodzaje ograniczeń dotyczących korzystania z wolności i praw człowieka i obywatela powinny odpowiadać charakterowi oraz intensywności zagrożeń występujących w cyberprzestrzeni oddziałujących na normalne funkcjonowanie państwa. W artykule zastosowano metodę dogmatyczno-prawną, za pośrednictwem której dokonano analizy obowiązujących przepisów prawnych pod kątem cyberbezpieczeństwa jako przesłanki uzasadniającej ograniczenie wolności i praw jednostki.

Legal and Extra-Legal Models of States of Emergency

The institution of states of emergency has acquired a new dimension with the development of states with a democratic system. Their feature is episodic and juridical. These states can be triggered by exogenous and/or endogenous factors. They are introduced in order to counteract the threat to the security of the state, its integrity and care for the welfare of the nation. During their duration, the role of the executive increases and civil rights and freedoms are restricted. In the article emphasis is placed on the models of the powers of government in states of emergency. The approaches of David Dyzenhaus and Oren Gross and Fionnual Ní Aoláin are presented. The thesis of the article is that the sources of power of the authorities in the period of extraordinate states have not only a legal basis, but are also located outside the law.

States of Emergency in the Constitution of Hungary of 2011 and the Practice of Their Application

After Viktor Orbán came to power, a new constitution of Hungary was adopted in 2011, which includes a separate section devoted to the states of emergency. In this time a constitutional state of danger was introduced in Hungary in the face of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the war in Ukraine in 2022, and in the case of the migration crisis in 2015, a state of crisis was introduced regulated by law. The aim of the article is to present the types of states of emergency in Hungary and the practice of their application during the rule of the Fidesz party based on the analysis of legal acts regulating the issue of extraordinary measures. The main thesis assumes that the government of Orbán used the extraordinary situation in the country not only to fight the threat, but also to strengthen its already strong position in the Hungarian political system.