This text is a record of a speech given during the Third Polish Conference of Chairs and Departments of Political Systems. The main subject of this paper is the need to carry out research on political systems using diverse methods and takes, both legal and “humanistic”. The paper shows how important in terms of methodology it is to compare particular legal status with reality using examples when legal analysis is not sufficient, for example, on the account of social rebellion. The text identifies challenges that researchers of political systems face due to that fact. In this context is also discusses the problems related to studying such institutions as, for example, the Ukrainian Maidan.

A distinctive trend developed in 19th and 20th century Europe, which saw the universalisation of principles of state political systems. This tendency expressed itself in proclaiming in the constitutions of individual states and in the practical application by European democracies of the political principles inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment. Over a period of over two centuries, the constitutions of many countries developed with a similar catalogue of principles of government, in a similar legal form. These principles express the same ideas and political values and aim at developing an identical model of government structure based on liberal-democratic ideals. It is characteristic that during the last decade of the 20th century there was a sudden increase in this tendency and the spreading of those principles to over twenty countries.

In the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland (of 2nd April, 1997) legislator refers to God and culture rooted in the Christian heritage of the Nation. The question arises whether the reference to religious elements in the legal text in some way affects the process of applying the law? The answer should be yes. It is not about favoring Christian denominations, or discrimination against people who do not believe in God. The crux is to create law and decode legal principle contained therein, taking into account the Christian moral values. This is due to the centuries-long contribution that Christianity has brought to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe, creating its unique identity. The reference to God highlights the human autonomy towards state and means prohibition of state totalitarianism.

In my paper I present the electoral transformation of the last three decades by considering the most important impulses and their effects. In doing so, I focus on a few essential elements that are considered to be decisive Hungarian and internationally in terms of both electoral science and election practice. Such are, among others, primarily the nomination system, internationalization of election, the electoral data protection or the evolution of electoral technology.

Second Amendment to the American Constitution. Genesis, Targets and Objectives

The author will try to trace the genesis of the Second Amendment in the context of the American constitution process and the influence of other legal acts on the final content of the provision in question. What’s more the author will analyze the ideas that accompanied the Founding Fathers and which led to the creation of the United States Constitution. The author will analyze the objectives of the Second Amendment and the ideological assumptions that underpin it, including the issue of enabling citizens personal defense and the protection of private property, as well as the issue of guaranteeing citizens an effective tool to resist the state apparatus as a guarantee of citizens’ freedom as well as to prevent possible tyranny. Finally, the author will refer to the issue of culture of gun ownership in the USA and Poland.

In American legal historiography, the debate concerning the exact contours and reforms of the Progressive Era is still ongoing. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the American reform movements tried to match American ideals with the challenges of the times. Although progressive attitudes toward the economy, taxation, foreign policy, labor law, social standards, human rights, women’s suffrage, rapid urbanization and unrestricted immigration highlighted the necessity of reforms, such progress was seen from a variety of perspectives. We may ask the question if American legal thought that time was really progressive. The jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court profoundly influenced the shape of the legal order in economic and labor law. Unfortunately, some decisions were not compatible with the visions of progressive reformers and reflected the ideological attitudes of the justices rather than an aspiration for reform.

Admissibility of transcription of birth certificate of a samesex parents’ child – remarks within the context of the most recent case-law of the Supreme Administrative Court

This paper is an attempt to critically analyze the jurisprudence of Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court on transcription of a foreign birth certificate of a child of same-sex parents and it aims to present a decisive scientific position on this major issue. The subject being discussed, requires the adoption of a systemic and functional perspective during the scrupulous exegesis of the legal text and a particular consideration should be given to the inclusion of the constitutional norms in the process of examining the admissibility of this type of transcription. Therefore, this article comprises dogmatic references to the constitutional concept of family, parenthood and the scope of legal protection guaranteed by the relevant normative contents (including those firmly axiologised), as well as a commentary on selected provisions from a sub-constitutional level. A comprehensive analysis of the issue of transcription of the present category of birth certificates, taking into account the various normative levels, has led to the conclusion that the Supreme Administrative Courts’ thesis – which is boiled down to the recognition that there is a basic principle (that underpin the operation of polish legal system) which absolutely precludes transcription of a foreign birth certificate where same-sex people are entered as childs’ parents – does not deserve approval. Contrary to the presented view of jurisprudence, such a ban – for various reasons mentioned in the text – cannot be derived from the Polish law system.

The topic of the present article is the response of states to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by using extraordinary legal measures provided for in their constitutions and legislation. By reference to the research project's findings, the authors characterise the legal solutions in selected jurisdictions and attempt to demonstrate the relationship between the application of emergency measures and the specific political system of states. By doing so, the authors consider such factors as the territory, population, or type of political regime.

Prawa i obowiązki państwa członkowskiego organizacji międzynarodowej – artykuł 90 Konstytucji RP

Artykuł 90 Konstytucji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (ustawy zasadniczej) jest zdefiniowany nie tylko w orzecznictwie, ale również i w doktrynie, jako podstawa prawna przystąpienia państwa członkowskiego (m.in. Polski) do organizacji międzynarodowej. Udział ten związany jest przede wszystkim z uprawnieniami członkowskimi, ale także z obowiązkami. Wśród tych pierwszych należy wskazać po pierwsze czerpanie korzyści z członkostwa w organizacji międzynarodowej, po drugie wykonywanie wszystkich statutowych i zwyczajowych uprawnień członkowskich, czy też udział w procesie podejmowania decyzji. Natomiast do obowiązków członkowskich należy zaliczyć po pierwsze wykonywanie zobowiązań statutowych, wspieranie organizacji międzynarodowej w realizacji celów i funkcji organizacyjnych, czy też solidarność z organizacją oraz jej państwami członkowskimi.

Foreign Experience of Establishing the Right of the People to Participate in Legislation

The article analyzes the foreign experience of consolidating the right of the people to participate in lawmaking. The following conclusions were made in the course of the research: in general, there are two common approaches to determining the minimum number of persons (only citizens who have the right to vote): proportional (the proportion of the total number of voters is set); quantitative (a clear number of voters is determined, whose initiative is sufficient to be considered “popular”. Foreign experience in the forms of people’s participation in law-making is extremely multifaceted, as it provides a wide variety of forms, which we think should be classified according to the criterion of bilateral obligations and the level of inclusiveness of Parliament in relations with the people. It should be noted that we see the greatest efficiency in the implementation of such forms of direct participation of the people in lawmaking, namely: legislative initiative; referendum; activity of consultative and advisory bodies, and the people’s veto should be considered as a kind of referendum, with a complex structure and mechanism for implementation. The existence of the limits of people’s access to participation in law-making is analyzed and it is determined that most of the Constitutions of states declare the inadmissibility of putting to a referendum issues related to: tax and budget system, international activities, amnesty. Instead, we believe that the wording of the Swiss Constitution is extremely accurate. The first set of issues on which the people have the right to initiate legislation is identical to the range of issues considered by Parliament. As for the Swiss Constitution, it gives extremely broad initiatives to the people not only at the level of the state as a whole, but also at the level of the cantons. Thus, we conclude that the right of the people to participate in lawmaking is an integral part of the system of democratic rights and freedoms, and the trend we see based on the analysis of the Constitutions of democracies shows a trend towards expanding models and forms of such participation. what should be taken into account during the constitutional and legal regulation of this issue in Ukraine.

The Position of the Council on Legislation (Lagrådet) in the Kingdom of Sweden – Introductory Remarks

In this work, the authors attempt to point out, on the one hand, the evolution of the Council on Legislation in the Kingdom of Sweden, and on the other, they will investigate the Swedish regulations concerning this body. This will be the basis for concluding remarks. In the opinion of the authors, the subject of these analyses is of significant importance in Poland in the context of searching for solutions optimizing the law-making process. It should be emphasized that in Sweden there is no centralized model of reviewing the constitutionality of the law, and common courts and other public bodies do not often use their right – under the constitution – to examine the constitutionality and legality of legal acts. Hence, in the absence of constitutional review in Polish understanding, it is essential to guarantee prior preventive control.

On the Limits of Interpreting the Law According to Karl Engisch German Case Study

We are probably not mistaken when we state here that one of the most heatedly debated issues in German legal doctrine remains the problem of the delimitation of the limits of judicial lawmaking (Richterrecht). In other words, and in the most succinct terms, the judge’s right to legislate. For the judicial law is, and it would be difficult not to agree with such an opinion, one of the most interesting but also controversial issues in contemporary legislation. The question as to whether a judge is merely the „mouthpiece of the law”, or whether he or she is allowed to make a creative contribution to its interpretation, cannot be regarded, even today, as not serious or merely outdated. Hence, the attempt of Karl Engisch (1899–1990), one of the most prominent German criminal law theorists of the 20th century, to answer this question can and should be seen not only in terms of casuistic demonstration, but also (and who knows if not primarily) as the evidence of a scholar who rejects seeing the judge as a kind of automaton acting according to cognitive dogmas. From the Polish perspective, this account remains convincing insofar as one takes into consideration Engisch’s rejection of National Socialist delusions in the study as well as in the application of law. An attitude which, as we know, was not typical of this milieu during the Third Reich.

The Constitutional Dimension of the Protection of the Rights of National Minorities in Austria

The article indicates such research problems as the features of the Austrian constitutional order, the history of Austrian constitutionalism and the main legal acts of a constitutional nature. The aim of the analysis was to determine: a) what is the level of protection of national minorities in Austria, resulting from the constitutional order?, b) can we speak of continuity of protection?, and c) what is the balance between legal regulations and practice? The article indicates that the level of protection of national minorities in Austria resulting from the constitutional order should be assessed as high. The minority status has been defined in a number of constitutional legal acts. We are dealing with the continuity of legal protection, and any problems do not concern strictly the law itself, but its practical application.

The Place of the Right to Internet in National Legal Orders

The information revolution, and the associated rapid development of technology, led to significant social changes. Currently every aspect of our life depends on access to the Internet. The conceptualization of the right to the Internet is a consequence of these changes and is an important element of the contemporary concept of the status of the individual. Many countries have started to implement it into their legal systems. The paper separates and assesses individual strategies of adopting this law. The research aim of the article is to answer the question: does the right to the Internet require direct introduction to the constitutional order of the state. The effect of the considerations is to define the desired place of the Internet right in the national legal order.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the American reform movements tried to match American ideals with the challenges of the times. Progressive attitudes highlighted the necessity of reforms. The Chinese issue, often risen in the public dialogue, was the subject of deliberation of the Supreme Court, the Congress, and the federal executive branch of government. Chae Chan Ping v. United States and subsequent cases established the doctrine of consular noneviewability referring to immigration law and delineating the scope of judicial review for decisions concerning the admission of immigrants to the United States. They also strengthened the plenary power doctrine. We may ask if the Supreme Court judgments were in conformity with the ideas of American Progressivism. Unfortunately, the Chinese Exclusion Cases were not compatible with the visions of progressive reformers and reflected anti-Chinese sentiment rather than an aspiration for reforms.

Selected Directions of Research in the Field of Constitutional Law in the World – a Subjective Contribution to the Discussion

At present, there is a global discussion on desirable and necessary changes to the constitution, common and non-derogable democratic values, and the scope of the omnipotence of the authorities elected in free elections. Politicians, representatives of organizations representing civil society, experts and representatives of the world of science participate in this discussion. The Polish constitutional discourse after 2015 was dominated by the consequences of ruthless circumvention of the provisions of the constitution by politicians in power. Even in these circumstances, however, other issues that are currently being debated in international constitutional forums must not be lost sight of. It seems that at least some of them may prove useful in the discussion on restoring constitutional standards.