Amendments to the Election Code in 2018 in the area of election campaign and election agitation

The aim of the article is to analyze the changes introduced to the Polish electoral law in the scope of the election campaign and agitation campaign based on the act of 11 January 2018 amending the Election Code. The conducted analysis, apart from discussing the new regulations, also includes an attempt to assess them from the perspective of constitutional and international standards, as well as indicating some of those matters which the amendment did not cover and which should be regulated beacause of the problems of electoral practice in Poland. The detailed remarks concern three functionally related thematic areas separated for the purposes of the analysis, i.e. election campaign, agitation campaign and new regulations regarding the financing of election committees during the campaign. 

The institution of the child’s hearing in the light of the Polish Constitution (selected issues)

The subject of this article is the analysis of the institution of the child hearing provided for in Art. 72 (3) of the Polish Constitution. The right of a child to be heard is one of the fundamental rights of a child and is part of child’s right to protection in legal proceedings concerning it. The publication presents the concept of a child itself, which is defined in various ways due to the lack of one universal, system-wide definition of a child, and also presents an example catalog of matters falling under the constitutional premise – “establishing children’s rights”. The group of entities obliged to hear a child, such as generally accepted public authorities and persons responsible for the child, were also introduced. The introduction of the above-mentioned concepts made it possible to assume that the institution of hearing the child is necessary to ensure the fundamental rights of the child and as an element of its right to protection in legal proceedings concerning it.

The ban on assemblies in Poland during the epidemic and criminal liability

During the 16 months of the epidemic threat, and then the state of the epidemic, the executive authority introduced restrictive restrictions in the area of freedom of assembly, periodically forbidding them completely. Regardless of the bans introduced, during the indicated period, there were numerous protests and demonstrations triggered by the lockdown, government policy or the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of October 22, 2020. The author tries to answer the question whether the bans and restrictions introduced by the executive met the constitutional standard, and if not, whether the behavior of organizers or participants of assemblies constituting the implementation of their constitutional freedoms could fulfill the criteria of specific offenses or crimes. For this purpose, the author analyzes, inter alia, judgments of common courts, as well as the judgment of the Supreme Court of July 1, 2021.

Relations between the state and churches and religious associations in Poland

Freedom of conscience and religion is the foundation of the modern concept of a democratic state ruled of law. This concept is a source of limitations for this freedom. This freedom cannot be considered solely in the sphere of the psyche and in the sphere of privacy. The author presents and analyzes the regulation in question against the background of the principles determining the position of churches and religious associations in the state and their relations with the state.

The aim of the publication is to present the key issues regarding legal forms of restrictions on freedoms and rights (especially freedom of movement) without the simultaneous introduction of one of the constitutional states of emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Republic of Poland and their assessment in terms of compliance with the Constitution. An important issue is the restriction of freedom of movement by the executive without proper authorization by statute. Despite the lack of the authorization in question, the Minister of Health introduced a ban on movement under the provisions of the executive act, which is contrary to Art. 92 sec. 1 of the Polish Constitution2, pursuant to which the bodies indicated in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland are authorized to issue the ordinance on the basis of statutory delegation. Moreover, in the light of Art. 31 sec. 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, restrictions on the exercise of constitutional freedoms and rights, including the right to move (Art. 52 of the Polish Constitution), may be established only by statute, therefore the regulation of the matter in question by means of a sub-statutory act, without proper authorization in the provisions of the act, violated a number of provisions of the Constitution, which means that in the event of failure to observe the statutory form for restrictions on freedoms and rights, it must lead to the disqualification of a given regulation as being contrary to Art. 31 sec. 3 of the Polish Constitution.

The Nation as the Entity Limiting Itself in Its Rights and Freedoms. Sovereignty of the Nation as the Basis for Functioning of the Principle of Exclusivity of a Statute

The author writes about the relation between two constitutional principles: the sovereignty of the nation and the exclusivity of the statute, with the aim of checking whether the first one is not the basis for the functioning of the second one. Therefore, using the dogmatic, theoretical-legal and teleological methods, the author shows that, firstly, the Nation adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which allows to limit some human and citizen rights and freedoms by the statute, and then elected its representatives, who in the name, interest, and on the basis of the legitimation received from the Nation, statued such restrictions. That brought the author to the conclusion that in fact the Nation is the entity that limits itself in exercising its rights and freedoms.

Act of March 11, 2022. on defense of the Homeland is a classic example of an “executive act” for the constitutional regulation of issues related to state security, including military security. The Homeland Defence Act contains the so far missing specification of the normative solutions contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997. They concern in particular the development of regulations concerning the following constitutional issues: the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the duty of a Polish citizen to defend the Homeland, the President of the Republic as the supreme commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers as the body that ensures the external security of the state and exercises general management in the field of national defense. The main goal of the legislator is to replace the archaic and incompatible with the current needs and tasks of the Polish state and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland regulations contained in the Act of November 21, 1967. on the general duty to defend the Republic of Poland.

The subject of the article is a reference to beauty in the preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. First, the legislative history of the fragment of the introduction to the Constitution, which constitutes beauty as a universal value, has been presented. Then it has been interpreted, taking the position that the constitutional concept of beauty is not only an aesthetic category but also an ethical category. Finally, a study of jurisprudence and normative acts has allowed to define the scope of beauty operationalization as a constitutional value. Critical reference has been made to the state of affairs in which beauty, being an element of constitutional axiology, plays a barely noticeable role in the practice of creating and applying Polish law.

The idea of identity and national consciousness are sociological and political concepts that are connected with normative acts, in particular with the Constitution. These concepts involve the problem of national and ethnic minorities. The sense of national identity is associated with a sense of belonging to the nation and it applies to individuals, has the character of a personal right, and is associated with identification with the national community. The material scope of national identity is difficult to determine; however, it contains access to widely understood cultural goods. The article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland draws attention to the components of national identity. This article lists freedom to preserve and develop one’s own language, to maintain customs and traditions, to develop one’s own culture, as well as the possibility of creating educational and cultural institutions for protection of religious identity. In the light of the analyzed views of doctrine, jurisprudence and international standards, it seems that there is no doubt that the concept of a nation in the Polish Constitution is not ethnic. Such an ethnic meaning may have the notion of a national minority.

The Impact of the International Situation on the Shape of the Twentieth-Century Polish Constitutions

The subject of the article is the issue of the impact of the international situation on the shape of Polish twentieth-century fundamental laws and the determination of how the Polish constitutional legislator made it possible to implement the assumptions of Polish foreign policy. The first part of the article discusses the impact of the international situation on the provisions of the Constitutions of 1921 and 1935, with particular emphasis on the provisions relating to wartime. The second part of the article draws attention to the issues of political changes related to Poland’s membership in the Eastern Bloc countries. The third part of the article concerns the impact of the geopolitical situation on the shape of constitutional reforms during the period of Poland’s political transformation. The last part of the article analyzes the impact of Polish aspirations for European integration and NATO accession on the shape of the currently binding Constitution of 1997.

The Principle of the Common Good as a Source of Civil Society in Poland

The article concerns the constitutional sources of civil society in Poland. Although the Polish Constitution does not refer directly to civil society, it expresses its key values and assumptions in numerous provisions. The constitutional principle of the common good should be regarded as the basis of civil society in the Republic of Poland. The article indicates the links between the principle of the common good and the constitutional model of civil society. The axiological convergence of both categories mentioned is based, inter alia, on the respect for civic rights and freedoms, but also on the emphasis on the duties that the individual-citizen performs for the state. It is for this reason that the principle of the common good in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 combines elements of the individualist and communitarian conception of the civil society.