Judicial control of the conformity of law to the constitution nowadays serves as one of the basic guarantees of the observance of the constitution. In majority of continental European states it is performed by a particular body a constitutional court. So the same is true in Poland, however it seems still to be one of the least understood aspects of the functioning of our political system. And especially with regard to the opportunities offered by that for non­public entities to protect their rights and to influence the public decision making process. The awareness in this respect seems to be on a very low level. That is why the aim of the author is to verify a research assumption that the Constitutional Court jurisdiction has a serious social dimension, noticeable for Polish non­public actors.

The paper discusses participatory budgeting as one of the institutions of direct democracy and a form of co-decision of residents in the process of spending public funds at the disposal of local government units. Its essence is the activation of citizens, building trust and cooperation between the authorities and the inhabitants, as well as the implementation of the principles of equality and social justice. The significance of the participatory budgeting as a new form of influence on the decisions of the local government apparatus is not so much about ensuring citizens participation in managing public finances as it is primarily about education and increasing public awareness in the area of democratization of local government. The participatory budgeting in Poland was considered in the view of models of democracy: direct, representative (conventional) and participatory.

The citizens’ panel is one of the instruments of deliberative democracy, which has been recently implemented in Poland. Its essence is manifested in the creation of a representative group of residents, which, after acquiring knowledge on a given topic, prepare recommendations constituting a solution to a given problem. The current legal solutions concerning the citizens’ panel in Poland are primarily governed by local law. They vary not only in content, but also in legal forms, initiators, methods of appointing experts and even the very concept of the “citizens’ panel”. This article attempts to show these differences in current Polish regulations. The considerations on the citizens’ panel are followed by conclusions de lege ferenda which aim to improve the current legislative solutions.

The paper presents the results of analysis of the status of organizational and legal mechanism of public administration of electronic consultations (e-consultations) as well as scientific and theoretical substantiation of recommendations to Ukrainian authorities on their improvement. The study of national and international laws in regard to functioning of the mechanism of e-consultations has been conducted to determine positive and negative factors influencing its application. Ways to improve specified mechanism regarding the structure of units of central (regional, local) executive bodies and local governments, legal normative acts concerning e-consultations and participation of public councils in the process of e-consultations have been offered. The main shortcomings of the organizational and legal mechanism of public administration of national e-consultations have been identified, including: low 36 Yanis Yansons quality of e-consultations; unwillingness of the subjects of power to allow the civil society to have a real impact on state affairs, lack of responsibility for ignoring the law in regard to organization and conduct of e-consultations, distrust of the authorities and “digital inequality” etc. Based on the analysis of international experience in implementing the tool of e-consultations, ways to improve the procedure for its implementation in Ukraine, changes to national laws and recommendations to central (regional, local) executive bodies and local governments, public councils and the civil society to improve the organizational and legal mechanism managing tool of econsultations implementation, operation and development.

In the context of democratic discourse, civil society is given a decisive role in the formation of power and influence on power. However, between the authorities (state and self-governing) and public organizations, as representatives of the interests of civil society, mostly subject-object relations are established, where the subject is the government. The article is devoted to finding an answer to the question: can the model of subject-subject relations between the government and civil society, where both social institutions are equal participants in the political process, have practical application? Analysis of social changes in Western Europe and Ukraine gives grounds to support the point of view of those scholars who consider civil society the basis of the state, a factor that gives a specific character to each state formation, regardless of the generality of democratic processes. At the same time, attention is drawn to the heterogeneity of civil society, which is a barrier to its consolidation and strengthening of subjectivity. There is a noticeable increase in competition between the state and civil society in terms of influencing society, as well as the manipulation of public movements by public authorities to achieve political goals. However, a fairly high level of public confidence in public organizations and the potential for their advocacy allow the use of public influence to activate the population and strengthen the position of civil society in relations with the authorities.

From the point of view of social policy, the need of security is considered as the indispensable part of functioning and development of every society. Citizens’ participation avers that the inhabitants will have the possibility of taking part in making decisions about their own surrounding, which results in development of the sense of security. The actions taken in the social space initiate the existence of the selfaware civil society. This article’s main aim is to discuss the possibilities of assuring the social security through civil commitment and their active participation in the public life. The formal instruments that occur in the system of Polish law (i.e. a participation in the open debate, a participation in the elections, a legislative initiative) have been analyzed. Those instruments enable to the residents the participation and codecision making and, what follows, they contribute towards forming broadly defined security.