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Economic Aspects of the Internet : the Rise of the Commercial Foundations of the WebThe article describes the Internet and the crucial conflict in expectations as regards common convictions which emphasize the social view of the Web. Such views are very popular and as a result they bring the great vision of the Internet as a new public space which demands democratic civil rights for example. In this situation inevitably a conflict emerges between this vision and the business which treats the Internet as its natural environment. The article describes the very beginnings of the Internet and the early phase of this conflict, which has existed from the very beginning mostly due to the counterculture of the sixties in USA. The article also describes the commercial sources of the Web which allowed its voluminous progress and the role of the third player in this game – the Government of the USA which has seen the Internet as a chance for potential economic growth. The article also emphasizes the great significance of the macroeconomic environment in the eighties, which also considerably enhanced the development of the Web. The article documents the predominance of the economic aspect of the Internet, which has become a fact already at the beginning of the nineties and describes incidents which confirm this situation, for example the rebellion of Jon Postel in 1998.

China In Africa – An Opportunity Or Neo-Colonialism In The Xxi Century? Selected Aspects Of The Chinese Presence On The ContinentChina's policy towards African countries undergone a significant transformation since the 50's of the XX century, and changed dramatically in the last decade, given the scale of the Middle Kingdom economic engagement on the continent. Africa is nowadays an important source of natural resources and huge market for Chinese products. The same time for non democratic regimes, China eases tensions in the Africa-USA and Africa-EU relations. Chinese aid and investments, are well recognized in Africa, as they are unconditionally realized. Although both parties derive commercial and political benefits from cooperation, Chinese policy is characterized by pragmatism and willingness to achieve their own objectives. If Chinese interests increasingly depend on local leaders' policy, will it be possible to maintain in future decades "non-interference" ability towards African's internal affairs? To which extend Chinese presence benefits in building of political, economic and social governance in Africa, and how far it is a scenario of taking advantage in a "neo-colonial" style?

In the postmodern era, Europe, including Poland, is strikingly characterised by the migration of citizens, caused among others by the process of European integration or globalisation, enhanced by the fact that territorial, transport and language barriers cease to exist. There are two types of migration: external (among countries) and internal (among regions or municipal units). The process mentioned, apart from all its positive aspects, may simultaneously lead to a weakening or even loss of local identity as well as social bonds on the local level. These two elements, however, are absolutely vital for the proper functioning of a local self-government community. The process of erosion of social bonds is also infl uenced by a consumerist and hedonist lifestyle. Therefore, a question arises about the future shape of the self-governmental community, which consists of all the inhabitants of a principal unit of administrative division of a country. Such a community with its territory constitutes the local self-government, which not only takes part in exercising public authority, but also as a result of the process of decentralising public authority, accomplishes an essential part of its objectives. Thus, the fi rst element of the presentation will be introducing the political shape of the local self-government, set by the norms laid out in the constitution and the European Charter of Local Self-government, based on legal dogmatics and empirical method (analysis of the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court). Second, the presentation will attempt to verify the thesis concerning the level of threats for the future functioning of the institutions of the local self-government, caused by contemporary social, economic and cultural changes. A measurable factor verifying the thesis will consist in the analysis of the participation of the local communities in the direct way of exercising authority by the members of the self-governmental community, namely the attendance in local elections). A positive answer to the thesis formed may constitute a basis for de lege ferenda conclusions, concerning the shape of local self-government institutions in Poland.

The aim of the study is a comparison of re-privatization policy pursued in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with particular emphasis on the former GDR. Poland has chosen a completely different approach to this issue from that of the Germans. Despite the claims of former owners concerned, in almost 2/3 of the former GDR territory, the German legislature quickly and decisively resolved these issues, so that they do not impinge on the current social and economic life of Germany. Poland however, after two decades of transformation, has still not developed a clear position on this issue, while successive legislation projects end in failure or are postponed indefinitely. This practice leads to doubt as to whether our country can be regarded as fully integrated with the West in terms of compliance with standards of the modern state, which resolves sensitive issues and seeks to eliminate hot spots in contacts with foreign countries (e.g. the return of former Jewish property). Reprivatization is important for several reasons, of both legal and economic nature. Lack of a solution raises a sense of injustice among former owners, generates numerous conflicts on the citizen-state line, and calls into question the constitutionally guaranteed protection of property rights in Poland. On the other hand, a thankless objective of an economist is to assess the economic aspects of a possible compensation program – could Poland afford it? What would be the costs of abandonment of any action? In the first part of the study the regulations on property restitution in the former Eastern bloc countries are shortly discussed. Then attention is paid to the legal and economic conditions of the property restitution process in Poland. The article ends with conclusions. ; Cel opracowania stanowi porównanie polityki reprywatyzacyjnej prowadzonej w Polsce i w innych krajach Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem byłej NRD. W Polsce zaobserwować można zupełnie odmienne podejście do tej problematyki niż u naszych zachodnich sąsiadów. Pomimo, że roszczenia dawnych właścicieli dotyczyły niemal 2/3 terytorium byłej NRD, niemiecki ustawodawca szybko i zdecydowanie rozwiązał te kwestie, dzięki czemu nie rzutują one na obecne życie społeczne i gospodarcze RFN. Polska natomiast po dwóch dekadach transformacji wciąż nie wypracowała jasnego stanowiska w tej sprawie, zaś kolejne rządy podejmują bezskuteczne próby regulacji lub odsuwają problem w bliżej nieokreśloną przyszłość. Taka praktyka każe wątpić, czy można uznać nasz kraj za w pełni zintegrowany z Zachodem, w sensie spełniania standardów nowoczesnego państwa, które rozwiązuje drażliwe sprawy i stara się likwidować punkty zapalne w kontaktach z zagranicą (np. zwrot mienia pożydowskiego). Reprywatyzacja jest istotna z kilku przynajmniej powodów o naturze zarówno prawnej, jak i ekonomicznej. Brak rozwiązania dawnych krzywd rodzi poczucie niesprawiedliwości, generuje liczne konflikty na linii obywatel-państwo i rodzi wątpliwości w gwarantowaną konstytucyjnie ochronę praw własności w naszym kraju. Z drugiej strony należy pytać o aspekty ekonomiczne ewentualnego programu odszkodowawczego – czy Polskę po prostu na to stać? Jakie są koszty zaniechania jakichkolwiek działań? W pierwszej części opracowania omówione zostaną uwarunkowania prawne i ekonomiczne procesu reprywatyzacji w Polsce. Następnie przybliżone zostaną regulacje dotyczące zwrotu majątku w wybranych krajach byłego bloku wschodniego. Artykuł kończą wnioski.

The aim of the study is a comparison of re-privatization policy pursued in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with particular emphasis on the former GDR. Poland has chosen a completely different approach to this issue from that of the Germans. Despite the claims of former owners concerned, in almost 2/3 of the former GDR territory, the German legislature quickly and decisively resolved these issues, so that they do not impinge on the current social and economic life of Germany. Poland however, after two decades of transformation, has still not developed a clear position on this issue, while successive legislation projects end in failure or are postponed indefinitely. This practice leads to doubt as to whether our country can be regarded as fully integrated with the West in terms of compliance with standards of the modern state, which resolves sensitive issues and seeks to eliminate hot spots in contacts with foreign countries (e.g. the return of former Jewish property). Reprivatization is important for several reasons, of both legal and economic nature. Lack of a solution raises a sense of injustice among former owners, generates numerous conflicts on the citizen-state line, and calls into question the constitutionally guaranteed protection of property rights in Poland. On the other hand, a thankless objective of an economist is to assess the economic aspects of a possible compensation program – could Poland afford it? What would be the costs of abandonment of any action? In the first part of the study the regulations on property restitution in the former Eastern bloc countries are shortly discussed. Then attention is paid to the legal and economic conditions of the property restitution process in Poland. The article ends with conclusions. ; Cel opracowania stanowi porównanie polityki reprywatyzacyjnej prowadzonej w Polsce i w innych krajach Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem byłej NRD. W Polsce zaobserwować można zupełnie odmienne podejście do tej problematyki niż u naszych zachodnich sąsiadów. Pomimo, że roszczenia dawnych właścicieli dotyczyły niemal 2/3 terytorium byłej NRD, niemiecki ustawodawca szybko i zdecydowanie rozwiązał te kwestie, dzięki czemu nie rzutują one na obecne życie społeczne i gospodarcze RFN. Polska natomiast po dwóch dekadach transformacji wciąż nie wypracowała jasnego stanowiska w tej sprawie, zaś kolejne rządy podejmują bezskuteczne próby regulacji lub odsuwają problem w bliżej nieokreśloną przyszłość. Taka praktyka każe wątpić, czy można uznać nasz kraj za w pełni zintegrowany z Zachodem, w sensie spełniania standardów nowoczesnego państwa, które rozwiązuje drażliwe sprawy i stara się likwidować punkty zapalne w kontaktach z zagranicą (np. zwrot mienia pożydowskiego). Reprywatyzacja jest istotna z kilku przynajmniej powodów o naturze zarówno prawnej, jak i ekonomicznej. Brak rozwiązania dawnych krzywd rodzi poczucie niesprawiedliwości, generuje liczne konflikty na linii obywatel-państwo i rodzi wątpliwości w gwarantowaną konstytucyjnie ochronę praw własności w naszym kraju. Z drugiej strony należy pytać o aspekty ekonomiczne ewentualnego programu odszkodowawczego – czy Polskę po prostu na to stać? Jakie są koszty zaniechania jakichkolwiek działań? W pierwszej części opracowania omówione zostaną uwarunkowania prawne i ekonomiczne procesu reprywatyzacji w Polsce. Następnie przybliżone zostaną regulacje dotyczące zwrotu majątku w wybranych krajach byłego bloku wschodniego. Artykuł kończą wnioski.