Implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-government – a few Notes on the margins of the Constitutional case law

The European Territorial Self-Government Charter (Charter) was ratified by the President of the Republic of Poland on November 22, 1993 and entered into force on March 1, 1994, being one of the first sources of harmonization of EU Member States’ legislation in matters of local self-government and its units. The observance of the provisions of the Charter by its signatories is supervised by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, through systematic monitoring and regular dialogue with the governments of the member states of the Council of Europe. The delegation of the Congress conducted a monitoring visit in Poland on 5–7 June 2018. The draft report and recommendations in the form of a report are to be published in March 2019. The aim of the article is to analyze how the Polish authorities referred to the weaknesses identified during the previous monitoring visit, which took place in 2015. Importantly, these problems were also reflected in cases referred to the Polish Constitutional Court. It should also be noted, that although in most cases, the provisions of the Charter did not constitute a standard of control (they were not indicated by the initiator of the Tribunal’s proceedings or the proceedings in this scope were discontinued), the provisions of the constitution guarantee (if indicated in the petition of the complaint or motion) issuing a judgment consistent with the spirit of the Card.