Konstytucyjny obowiązek przestrzegania prawa a obywatelskie nieposłuszeństwo
- Institution: Uniwersytet Rzeszowski
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1646-3141
- Year of publication: 2020
- Source: Show
- Pages: 241-257
- DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.02.13
- PDF: ppk/54/ppk5413.pdf
Constitutional Duty to Obey the Law vs Civil Disobedience
Article 83 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland states that “Everyone is obliged to obey the law of the Republic of Poland”. The obligation to obey the law cannot, however, imply absolute obedience to any law established by the state. That means that no state has the authority to violate human rights, because they are above the state law. Therefore, as the author stresses, in every modern constitution the right of sovereignty to defend values such as sovereignty, division of powers or human rights is guaranteed. The main thesis of the article indicates that a bad law may be the beginning of civil disobedience, understood as a symbolic, intentional manifestation of disobedience to the law carried out in the name of the conviction of its validity and superiority of other values and non-legal norms, including the possibility of incurring negative legal consequences – sanctions. Civil insubordination is therefore an instrument which, taking into account all its limitations, can be used in countries with democratic systems as a guarantee of protection of civil rights against the action of the authorities. Our constitution does not know the concept of civil disobedience or the older right of resistance. In Article 2 it is clearly emphasized that the Republic of Poland is a democratic legal state and the observance of the law should be understood as such conduct of citizens. and state bodies, which is in accordance with the binding regulations (Article 7 of the Constitution – the principle of legalism). Another issue raised in the article is the problem of justification of civil disobedience. The author does not share the view on the justification of civil disobedience. If the justification of civil insubordination entails the postulate of impunity, the concept of civil disobedience would become contradictory. At the same time he stresses that legalism cannot dictate absolute obedience to the existing law.