The Emergence of the Polish State in 1918 in the Light of International Law

Abstract

The author presents the issue of the rebirth of Poland in 1918 from the perspective of international law. It was quite an important subject of legal studies conducted 100 years ago. Today this matter has been forgotten and, therefore, it is worth reminding of it from a new temporal perspective.
The subject-matter, on which this article is based is provided by the most significant analyses performed by the representatives of the Polish scholarship of the interwar period, including in particular the works of the following professors: C. Berezowski, S. Hubert, Z. Cybichowski, W. Komarnicki, S. Bukowiecki, and documents of that period and stances and opinions of some leading foreign international jurists.
While it would be easy to present the views expressed by authors, it is difficult to discuss the subject itself because the stances taken by the representatives of scholarship about it are not uniform. One may even say that they are confrontational. The said contradiction also follows from the incoherent international practice and the internal practice of the authorities of the Second Republic of Poland.
The article not only collects and presents those contradictions but also indicates their significance and practical results. On the other hand, it aims at reconciling them, though perhaps not at the legal level, which is impossible in principle, but rather at the political level, which considers an additional aim that appeared after 100 years. It is – as stressed in summary – the need to promote Polish history (the State’s image) abroad. Hence, the text was written in English.
The article discusses the following matters: the historical and legal background of the reconstructed Polish statehood; the conception of the emergence of Poland as a new State; the conception of the continuity of the statehood that had existed before the partitions (the end of occupation); the approach of the domestic judiciary to the issue of the Polish statehood; the stance taken by the allied forces: recognition and treaty solutions; the issue of Polish borders; the succession of debts incurred by the partitioners; the succession of nationality. Thus, as far as possible – within limits imposed by editorial requirements – the text constitutes a complete analysis of the issue.