Nr 3Prawo i Więź Nr 3 (50) 2024

The history of democracy is primarily associated with ancient Greece and the Roman Republic. To this day, it is believed that democracy is the rule of the people. Since antiquity, new legal or institutional solutions have been introduced to ensure a certain status quo in the prevailing balance of political forces, guaranteeing the stability of the state and society. It is not uncommon for demands to save democracy to have been and still be made. An example of this was the recent elections in Poland, when the then-opposition went to the polls under the slogan of saving democracy. Few of the voters, or even the politicians who proclaimed these slogans, thought about what kind of democracy they were fighting for. Was democracy really threatened? And what is democracy? In this paper, a legal-historical analysis allows us to conclude that, due to social, political, and technological changes, the most optimal democracy today is constitutional liberalism, i.e., a form of government rather than a stability of procedures or institutions.

The paper conceptually reviews the paradigmatic models of mediation to understand the professional role of a mediator and the scope of ethical obligations. The description of each model presents the corresponding action of a mediator and the standard of intervention in the process, and examines their effectiveness in achieving the goals of mediation. In this regard, the paper examines the content of a mediator's ethical obligations and potential dilemmas in different mediation models that may be associated with a mediator's direct and uniform choice of a particular mediation model. The paper emphasises the importance of a mediator's competence for the proper functioning of a process and, at the same time, analyses the need for a strict demarcation from the professional role of an attorney, which is essential for the ethical execution of a mediator’s role.  

The objective of this elaboration is to analyze the influence of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on EU regulations concerning the status of workers with disabilities. The author presents the EU legal framework on disability, including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Directive 2000/78 on equal treatment in employment, as well as those provisions of the UN Convention that pertain to the prohibition of discrimination, accessibility, and the right to work. In light of the aforementioned considerations, the author proceeds to analyze the influence of the UN Convention on the EU Court of Justice case law with regard to the notion of disability and reasonable accommodations under EU law.

The following paper aims to highlight two periods of cooperation between the Russian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Special attention is paid to the legal mechanisms adopted by the Constitutional Court in order not to implement the decisions of the European Court. The Constitutional Court of Russia expressed the thesis that international treaties and decisions of the international court are subordinate to the Constitution in the hierarchy of sources of law. This was subsequently confirmed by the amendments to the Law on the Constitutional Court and the Constitution of Russia. In 2022, Russia lost its membership in the Council of Europe and abandoned the European legal order. There is no doubt that in the Russian Federation the status of international treaties, including the European Convention on Human Rights, depends on the political situation in the country and the attitude of the Russian authorities to cooperation with the international community.

With rapid technological advances, cybersecurity and personal data protection are becoming key issues that require a holistic approach. The dynamic development of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technologies creates new opportunities for cybersecurity. At the same time, potential attack vectors are emerging. The paper highlights the relationship between cybersecurity and the protection of personal data, and points to the need for integrated action at several levels. These include the development and implementation of advanced technological solutions and education to increase users' digital literacy. The analysis shows that only by balancing the potential of modern technologies with the risks associated with the human factor is it possible to effectively protect personal data in the digital ecosystem.

This paper addresses the problem of the need to determine the legality of autonomous weapon systems (AWS) under international humanitarian law (IHL), focusing on the two targeting and weapons laws. This study emphasizes the need not to confuse these two laws in the analysis. The paper aims to clarify whether AWS could be considered illegal under IHL, taking into account the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution. The research methodology includes an analysis of the relevant provisions of IHL and customary humanitarian law. The research design includes an examination of the potential of AWS to cause unnecessary injury or suffering and their classification as indiscriminate weapons. The paper concludes that while AWS posses autonomous decision-making capabilities, human oversight is required to prevent excessive harm.

This paper examines the civil liability of AI systems in EU legislation. The analysis discusses current problems with AI liability, proposals of the European Union legislator on how to solve existing problems and includes de lege ferenda suggestions. The observations’ conclusions allow us to answer whether the legal solutions offered by the Products Liability Directive proposal and the AI Liability Directive proposal are adequate to the identified problems with the liability of AI systems.

Contemporary India is caught between its attachment to tradition and the demands of modern civilization for respect for human dignity. Despite the constitutional guarantee of equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination based on gender, the shape and character of society are determined by religion and loyalty to tradition. The research problem of this paper is the situation of Hindu women in India; the author searches for the causes and possibilities of change in this situation. In pursuit of her research objective, she analyzes the Hindu tradition to find sources that define the role of women; studies the actions taken by the Indian government to be able to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the state policy; interprets data that reflect the everyday life of Indian women to show that the problem is not only theoretical but requires a specific response, which is postulated in the conclusions.

The 42nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution heralded India as a „Sovereign, Socialist, Secular Democratic Republic”. It initiated a constitutional narrative that has sparked ongoing debates and scrutiny regarding the true essence of India's secularism. As the nation approaches the 2024 general elections, the ruling party has discussed the potential implementation of the Uniform Civil Code at the forefront of political discourse.  In this commentary, the authors discuss legal pluralism in India and the impact of the introduction of a uniform civil code on on customary laws of tribes, placing special emphasis on the inheritance rights of tribal women. The paper also discusses the approach of the higher courts in securing property rights for tribal women in the absence of such a code.

Nowadays, the prevailing views in society regarding the improper practices of real estate developers have led to the formation of a negative perception of this professional group. The necessity to write the following work arose from the fact that most representatives of the doctrine, or scientific authors focus in their considerations on strengthening the protection of the purchaser of premises as the weaker party. Even the legislator himself did not hide his assumptions when creating the law and giving it the title Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Purchaser of a Dwelling or Single-Family House. In the author's opinion, it is necessary to ensure the protection of each of the parties to the development contract and to create a study to draw attention to the lawful ways of pursuing claims in the cases of improper behavior on the part of the purchaser. The work will address issues related to the developer's ability to apply the rebus sic stantibus clause and the contractual right of withdrawal. The attention will also be paid to the limits and possible consequences of not applying the principle of pacta sunt servanda, which is still known from Roman times.

In addition to the right to growth and development, every child is entitled to protection against violence and discrimination. Three rights should be bestowed upon children. In this context, the right to survival entails attaining self-sufficiency from childhood to adulthood. The entitlement to mature and progress. Individuals have the right to protection against violence and discrimination, which entails being free from unkind or unjust treatment and being subjected to appropriate treatment. The objective of this research is to assess the impact on the daily lives of children in Sidenreng Rappang regency who are exploited as delivery personnel for the illegal trade of narcotics, According to the results of the study conducted in October 2021 – January 2022. The interview questions pertaining to drug usage in this study were guided by the observational approach. Because they do not deserve it, children should not be expected to bear the same level of responsibility as adults in criminal and civil matters. In contrast, children are the nation's most valuable resource and its future. Rehabilitation of drug users under the jurisdiction of the law narcotics should be reevaluated, as it not only imposes a significant financial burden on the state but is also frequently misconstrued in the policy of law enforcement.

The aim of this article is to present the impact of state policy on civilians' access to weapons in the context of the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 pandemic. In the context of the above mentioned research objective, the article examines all currently possible forms of civilian access to weapons in the Republic of Poland: sport, hunting, collecting, personal protection, protection of persons and property, historical reconstructions, commemoration, training and others. In the first part of the discussion, the statistical data of the Police Headquarters on the access of civilians to weapons were analyzed. Then, the shortcomings of the current law were pointed out and de lege ferenda proposals for the most urgent and necessary legislative changes were made. The need for urgent legislative and administrative changes in the area of the current law was pointed out, with special emphasis on its adaptation to EU directives. It was recommended that there was an urgent need to introduce an electronic system for the collection and analysis of data on weapons permits, as required by the EU Directive; the need to adapt the categories of weapons contained in the EU Directive to the UoBiA; to move away from "to-target" permits to four levels of permits and to move away from specifying the number and type of weapons in the administrative decision; and finally, to regulate at the legislative level the rules for the storage of weapons, which are currently regulated by an implementing regulation.

The paper contains an analysis of legal matters concerning the Polish Film Institute. In analysing the Institute’s legal status, the authors have focused primarily on the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the Public Finance Act, the Cinematography Act and the Institute’s Statute. The Institute, being a state legal person, is a unit of the public finance sector. The authors examine issues relating to the organisation of the Institute and the tasks it performs.

The paper deals with the current legal issues of law enforcement agencies’ cooperation during the criminal proceedings on election offences committed during the Ukrainian elections on the territory of the Republic of Poland. The article focuses on the most problematic situations when an election criminal offence is committed outside the territory of a diplomatic institution of Ukraine. Gaps in the legal regulation are identified, as well as issues that need to be additionally regulated in the agreement between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland on cooperation in the organization and conduct of Ukrainian elections in order to prevent election offences.

The authors focus on the elements of the definition of the crime of genocide using the example of the Holodomor and the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. The article presents the relationship between the concept of genocide and its definition in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. However, the main objective of the paper is to point out certain similarities between the actions of Stalin’s regime against the Ukrainian nation during the Holodomor genocide and the recent actions within the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which are supported by genocidal propaganda and therefore, among other aspects, constitute the crime of genocide.

Decisions play an important role in the process of state governance and management. Contemporary literature emphasizes the importance of administrative decisions, analyzes their nature and function, and places them against the background of the constitutional principles of a democratic constitutional state. Carl Schmitt's writings contain original reflections on political decisions, to which the author assigns a legal value. He regards them as sources of law superior to norms. He thus modifies the theory of decisionism. According to Schmitt, norms do not fulfill their function in states that have never existed before (exceptional, unique states). Through an analysis of Carl Schmitt's texts, the author attempts to reconstruct the idea of the political decision as an extraordinarily coordinated instrument responsible for the protection of the state and the constitution.

The paper is devoted to the criminal assessment of suicide attempts. The author analyzes suicide attempts in terms of whether such behavior fulfills the premises of a crime. He proves that the behavior of a suicide attempt is a criminal act that fulfills the characteristics of the crime of attempted homicide. Due to the intentional violation of the inalienable legal interest, which in the Polish legal system is human life, in a manner contrary to the socially accepted rules of dealing with this interest, the degree of social harmfulness of an attempted suicide will usually exceed the threshold of insignificance. Attempted suicide, however, is not a crime, because at the time of the act, the would-be suicide is not guilty due to the abnormal motivational situation in which he found himself. Nevertheless, his act is unlawful, and therefore people who save a suicide and thus violate his legal interests, act legally, using the justifications of necessary defense. In the author's opinion, the lack of the right to commit suicide while at the same time violating the criminal protection of life (e.g. necessary defense, permitted abortion or freedom from compulsory treatment) proves the inconsistency of the Polish legal system.

Crime prevention among students of secondary vocational schools is a key challenge for the education system in Slovakia. This paper focuses on analysing the effectiveness of various prevention programmes that have been implemented to reduce juvenile delinquency in these schools. The comparative study focuses on the effectiveness of different approaches using both criminological and pedagogical methods. The effort is to identify which programmes and strategies are the most successful and can serve as models for other schools and institutions. Research is based on data obtained from police statistics, questionnaire surveys, and expert analyses, which allows deep insight into the issue and contributes to a better understanding and solution of juvenile delinquency in the secondary school environment.

The aim of the paper is to develop a system of factors that have influenced anti-corruption processes in Estonia. The factors that have contributed to the progress and the factors that hinder Estonia from achieving zero corruption are identified. Special aspects of anti-corruption reforms in Estonia at the institutional level are identified. The methodological basis of the research is neo-institutionalism and axiological analysis; they allowed to construct a system of factors of two types: (1) those that contributed/contribute to the anti-corruption progress of Estonia (2) those that hamper Estonia’s advance towards zero corruption.

This article presents a problem related to the interpretation of the provisions of the Spatial Planning and Development Act regarding the possibility of locating a renewable energy source installation on the basis of a decision on building conditions. The main issue is to answer the question whether it is possible or not to determine the building conditions for the project of locating a renewable energy sources installation with an installed capacity of more than 500 kW and freestanding photovoltaic devices with an installed electrical capacity of more than 1000 kW on agricultural land of classes V, VI, VIz and wasteland. If so, whether it depends on the existence of appropriate regulations adopted in the compensation land for development in the structure plan of the municipality? The analysis carried out leads to the conclusion that it is possible to determine the location of the installation of renewable energy sources installation by means of a decision on the conditions of construction, irrespective of the regulations adopted in the balancing plan of the municipality on the land for development and the capacity of this installation.

The paper presents the organizational and subjective model of military disciplinary proceedings. The article analyzes the interiorization and exteriorization stages of the process. In this study, the author also examines the submodel of the office based on the disciplinary authority exercised by internal entities called disciplinary superiors.

By abolishing the science of administration as a separate scientific discipline within the field of legal sciences, the legislator undermined the legitimacy of the hitherto very rich research perspective on the various and heterogeneous conditions in which public administration functions. After the reform, everything that did not fall within the scope of administrative law was assigned to the newly created science of politics and administration. As a result of this division, there is a danger of „underdeveloped research areas” in which, according to the author, the question of the relationship between politics and law can be included. On the one hand, there is a temptation for lawyers to overlook phenomena in public administration that are related to politics and at the same time are not directly related to administrative law. On the other hand, one should be aware that the analysis of the research conducted so far in political science shows a notorious tendency to marginalize the legal threads that condition the functioning of public administration. This study is another voice in the discussion on the restoration of the science of administration as a separate scientific discipline.

The aim of this paper is a comparative analysis of the legal regulations that established public tributes in Poland and Ukraine, the doctrine of tax and public law, and an attempt to define the concept of public tributes. This study aimed to examine the legislator’s approach, in particular on the grounds of the Constitution, to the issue related to public tributes. Determining the difficulties and growth of public levies in Poland and Ukraine was especially crucial. The analyses conducted for this study should support the idea that a systemic definition of public tributes is needed.

This paper is the first part of the topic on the position of women in the judicial process in Poland and Germany. It examines the legal position of women in court in Polish and German legal history from the 16th to the 20th century. The study distinguishes between criminal and civil proceedings, between unmarried and married women and merchant women, and between land, town and village law in Poland and ius commune, special and local law in Germany. While women were treated similarly to men in criminal proceedings at the beginning of the sixteenth century, there were major differences in civil proceedings. In both Poland and Germany, the unequal treatment of men and unmarried women ended around 1800 as a result of European codification. In contrast, married women had to wait until the 20th century for equal rights, even in court.