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The article deals with resonance, development, and changes in various forms of atheism in the works of Czech, especially Marxist, intellectuals in the second half of the 20th century. Attention is also paid to their influence on public opinion, especially in connection with a rise in negative attitude of a large part of the Czech public towards religion. The study is based primarily on historical and discursive analyses of the works of principal authors from the 1950s to 1989. Among the authors discussed are important figures such as Ivan Sviták, Milan Machovec, and Vítězslav Gardavský.

The historicity of the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic has a special dimension. In the preamble and in the articles of the first Chapter, reference is made to the heritage of the French Revolution and identification with its principles is emphasised. We are therefore dealing with a case of the Constitution that explicitly refers not to the entire historical heritage of France but to an exceptional moment in its history. This reference has a very real meaning because the legacy of the French Revolution affects the constitutional reality of today's France. This applies in particular to the specially conceive d idea of the sovereignty of the nation, the principles of indivisibility and the secularity of the Republic. At the same time, under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, there has been an interpretation of the legacy of the Revolution in terms that are critical of the Jacobin tradition, which allowed for a broad consensus on it. On the other hand, it can be argued that the Constitution is not fully representative in the dimension of history, as the legacy of pre-revolutionary France occupies a vital place in public education and in the politics of memory.

When the Constitutional Council was established in 1958, it was described as a political and judicial body. Since then, its powers and systemic importance have increased rapidly. However, the political-judicial nature of the Council has not changed. The Council's political character is expressed in its domination by individuals belonging to the political elite and high government officials. Undoubtedly, the persistent distrust in the French republican tradition of entrusting judges with control decisions of vital importance to the state is significant. In addition, the well-thought-out mechanism of appointing its members promotes the independence and legitimacy of this institution. It is also necessary to point out the symbiosis of the political and bureaucratic elites in France and the still-held view that it is responsible for decisions of crucial importance to the state and citizens.

Globalization undoubtedly is one of modern processes which lay foundations for most significant changes to contemporary societies. Social, economic and political phenomena, undergoing within nation-states and independently on them, have become a part of the network of global concerns and relations that the states are able to control no more than in a limited sense. In terms of localness the phenomenon is reflected in the processes of metropolization of urban agglomerations which form their own unique systems of governance. In doing so, they become distinctive laboratories of new forms of government and democracy. The increasing inadequacy of the territorial structure of the state and its institutional systems in terms of network systems and multilevel relations that form new and functional living space for contemporary man are responsible for initiating reforms in states. However, the process of those changes does not go automatically, and it most often stands for a confrontation of the global system imperatives with values, norms and institutions deeply rooted in social structure and shaped in the Westphalian era. Therefore, the search for wise answers to global challenges abounds in diverse results, an example of which may be seen in hybrid territorial units in France which are concomitant with the specific forms of governance that are formed within. Despite the fact that the book deals with French status quo in the main, it touches upon universal issues which concern challenges that modern democratic nation-states have to meet. The book addresses all researchers of contemporary times, who make an attempt to come to deeper understanding of the changes that a modern state and democracy have to face in times when the global system is being shaped. Unique is the fact that this book transcends theoretical digressions being at the same time embedded in the context of a particular society. The conclusions are based on an extensive empirical sources that the author of this book collected while conducting his research in France, where he had the honor of running discussions with French eminent scholars, politicians and people engaged in self-government. According to the reviewer of the book, professor Kazimierz Z. Sowa: "The collected research material presents itself as very interesting and valuable one; additionally its research method makes it a sui generis source of information. [.] The results provide us with a solid amount of knowledge about modern France whose problems go beyond the present ones."

The last two years of development of the Russian political system were characterised by the protest mood increasing. Social discontent and various forms of political protest have become a noticeable element of social and political life. It is symptomatic that the protest mood develops during electoral campaigns (that predetermined the victory of the opposition in the elections in a number of regions), and also as a result of development and implementation of the current governmental processes. Considering that elections have been held in the majority of Russian regions during 2017-2019, the attention to the protest movement from various political actors will increase. The authors analyze the forms, main actors and technologies of protests, worked out their typology based on case studies. The current protest mood in Russia is compared with the situation in several EU countries (primarily in France, as well as in Portugal, Poland, Serbia and Greece). In conclusion of the article will be presented the forecasts of the socio-political situation development in the Russian Federation.

In the article, the distinctive features of the Constitution of the 5th Republic are abalyzed. A brief discussion on some of the constitutional institutions showed the originality and novelty of the political system that was adopted after 1958. Built in the spirit of the French republican tradition, the system was based, on the one hand, on a strong and central constitutional position of the President, a twofold executive, and a parliament limited in its competences, and on the other hand, on parliamentary accountability of the government and well-developed direct democracy institutions. The French example could be considered excellent evidence of how the powerful and historic constitutional institutions could be adopted in a modern democratic state even under a concise constitution of a hybrid charakter. ; Artykuł nie zawiera abstraktu w języku polskim

Artykuł recenzowany / peer-reviewed article ; The English Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 is one of the legislative solutions that provides, based on the discretionary power of the judge, a possibility of interference of the court in the fate of the inheritance estate after the death of the testator. Recently, the English court has decided a case on the grounds of this Act. The judgement is controversial and bring England closer to the forced heirship rules of many European countries. The article discusses this judgement. ; Angielskie prawo spadkowe należy do rozwiązań legislacyjnych, które przewidują rozwiązania oparte na dyskrecjonalnej władzy sędziego, pozwalające na ingerencję w ostatnią wolę spadkodawcy, po jego śmierci. Ostatnio angielski sąd rozpoznał – na gruncie obowiązujących w tej mierze przepisów – sprawę, której kontrowersyjne rozstrzygnięcie może pozwolić na zerwanie w Anglii z wieloletnią tradycją i zbliżenie tamtejszego systemu do tych systemów, które przewidują obowiązkową część spadku. Artykuł omawia to orzeczenie.

The study presents the issues of a semi-presidential political system which can be distinguished in a few European countries. First, the autor presents the 5th Republic in France which is undoubtedly a model of his political system. There is the description of the structure of the main state authorities and the relations between them. The autor indicates the constitutional status and the decisive role of the president of the republic as the most important feature of the French semi-presidential political system. The attention is also paid to the parliament with the emphasis on these legal and political solutions which lead to the restriction of the legislative status. The paper also includes the issues concerning political position and importance of the government as well as the scope of its responsibility before the parliament and before the president of the republic. After the presentation of the political system of the 5th Republic, the autor attempts to show if and to what extent the present French political institutions are reflected in the political system of the Russian Federation. Therefore, he presents the regulations in the legally binding Russian constitution of 1993 and characterises the political status of the highest state authorities in the Russian Federation: the president, the government and the parliament. The author mainly emphasises these legal regulations which are similar to the political solutions used in the semi-presidential political system of the 5th Republic. ; Artykuł nie zawiera abstraktu w języku polskim

The article addresses the issue of change in the government-university relationships. As has become increasingly clear for both analysts of higher education policy and for administrators in higher education institutions, a fundamental shift in the relationship between national governments and higher education institutions is taking place in many Western European countries. In some countries, these changes are occurring at greater speed than in others, but movement to what has been labelled "state supervision" is quite dominant. The first part of the article analyses the rationale for this change at system level by tracing its historical imperatives; after which it discusses the concept of the supervisory governance model. The second part focuses in particular on one of the key of this objective and what doing so implies for the role and function of higher education institutions. By focussing on the specific issue of diversity, the authors intend to demonstrate the dynamic relationship between governments and higher education institutions that is implied in the supervisory model. ; Artykuł jest poświęcony zmianom w stosunkach między rządem i uniwersytetem. Zarówno dla analizujących politykę wobec szkolnictwa wyższego, jak i dla zarządzających szkołami wyższymi coraz bardziej oczywisty staje się fakt, że w wielu państwach Europy Zachodniej dokonują się zasadnicze zmiany w relacjach między państwem a instytucjami szkolnictwa wyższego. W niektórych krajach zmiany te zachodzą szybciej niż w pozostałych, lecz powszechna jest tendencja do przeobrażania stanu nazwanego "regulacją państwową" . W pierwszej części artykułu autorzy zajmują się systemowymi determinantami tych zmian, eksponując czynniki historyczne, oraz sposobem tworzenia państwowej regulacji. W drugiej części koncentrują się na jednym z kluczowych celów polityki w stosunku do szkół wyższych, to jest na problemie różnorodności i instrumentach realizacji strategii regulacji, a także na skutkach, jakie one wywierają w sferze misji oraz zadań szkół wyższych. Koncentrując się na problemie różnorodności, autorzy starają się pokazać zmiany zachodzące - pod wpływem modelu regulacji - w stosunkach między państwem a szkołami wyższymi.

According to the form of government of July 17, 1919, the constitutional system in Finland was marked by strenghened position of the President. He was considered both the head of the state and the real leader of the executive power. President served as a representative of the Republic, the real constructor of its foreign policy as well as the main cabinet-maker. The President's competences became enhanced by the strong personalities holding the office (like Juho Paasikivi and Urho Kekkonen). After resignation of Kekkonen from the office the position of the President's office holder was gradually lowered, although the change of the election procedure ( the direct election has replaced electoral colegium composed of 301 persons) offered some – unexplored – space for consolidation of his political position. The new Constitution of Finland of June 11, 1999 (in force since the year 2000) moved the constitutional system of the country towards the modernized parliamentarism. The President preserved his influence in the field of foreign policy but his internal competences were narrowed in favour of both the Parliament (Eduskunta) and the Cabinet, now strictly dependent on parliamentary majority. ; Artykuł nie zawiera abstraktu w języku polskim

W 2010 r. na Węgrzech przejęła władzę partia V. Orbana – FIDESZ. Dzięki wysokiej wygranej w wyborach parlamentarnych (niemal 53% głosów, co przełożyło się na 263 mandaty, czyli o 5 więcej niż wynosi konstytucyjna większość) możliwe stało się wprowadzenie głębokich zmian (w tym uchwalenie nowej konstytucji). W opinii wielu organizacji stojących na straży demokracji, a także Unii Europejskiej, zagrażają one fundamentom systemu demokratycznego w tym kraju. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie rozwoju demokracji na Węgrzech po 1989 r., a przede wszystkim ocena zmian zachodzących w tym kraju po 2010 r. W oparciu o dostępne wskaźniki jakości demokracji (Freedom House oraz The Economist Intelligence Unit's Index of Democracy), podjęta zostanie także próba zweryfikowania tezy Janosa Kornaia, iż "Od lat 1989–1990 do wiosny 2010 r. na Węgrzech była demokracja. Już jej nie ma – formą rządów stała się autokracja" (Kornai, 2011). W artykule skonfrontowano również zarzuty stawiane węgierskim reformom przez społeczność międzynarodową z tym, co na ich temat mają do powiedzenia twórcy tychże reform. ; In 2010 the Fidesz party of V. Orban took power. Owing to the considerable majority they won in the parliamentary elections (nearly 53% of the votes, which translated into 263 mandates, five more than required for a constitutional majority) it was possible to implement profound changes (including a new constitution). In the opinion of numerous organizations guarding democracy and of the European Union, these changes pose a threat to the foundations of democracy in Hungary. The objective of this paper is to present the development of democracy in Hungary after 1989, and first and foremost to assess the changes that have taken place there after 2010. On the basis of accessible indices of the quality of democracy (Freedom House and The Economist Intelligence Unit's Index of Democracy), the paper also attempts to verify the statement by Janos Kornai who said that "from 1989–1990 to the spring of 2010 Hungary was democratic. Now democracy is gone – autocracy has become the form of governance" (Kornai, 2011). The paper also counterpoints the accusations of Hungarian reforms, voiced by international community, with the opinions of the authors of these reforms.

[8], V, [1], 243, [3] s. ; 22 cm ; Bibliogr. s. IV-V ; Książka zalecona przez Ministerstwo Pracy i Opieki Społecznej ; Streszcz. fr. ; Książka zalecona przez Ministerstwo Pracy i Opieki Społecznej ; [8], V, [1], 243, [3] s. ; 22 cm ; Bibliogr. s. IV-V ; Streszcz. fr.

[W Słucku] ; Var. A - na stronie tytułowej brak miejsca wydania. ; Varianr określono na podstawie głównych różnic w składzie typograficznym - nie należą do nich brak rycin lub ost. k. Qqq z erratą. ; Wydane pod pseudonimem. ; Błędy w paginacji: po s. 65 nast. 67, po s. 120-122, po s. 128-130. ; Drzeworyt. h. Trąby Radziwiłłów na verso k. )()(3 oraz na k. Ppp1. ; Ryciny miedziorytnicze oznaczone literami A-T (łącznie z 1. front.) są sygn.: Sculpsit et delinea. Maximus Woßczanka Mohilovie (oraz: sculp. M. W.; fecit Maximus Woszczanka, etc.). ; Na s. 55 drzewor. "Zawoy." ; [W Słucku] ; [Var. A].