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The functioning of public administration should be consistent with the general interest, common to all citizens, and independent from the particularized interests of changing political forces. A condition for the proper functioning of administration is the selection of appropriate personnel to perform the duties defined by the state. According to the premises of this paper, the recruitment of personnel based upon objective criteria is of fundamental importance for the effective realization of the administration's mission. This article analyzes the weaknesses of personnel policy in fiscal administration in Poland after 1989 against the background of the broader process of creating a Polish civil service. The study aims at determining the extent to which the actual relations between politics and administration reflect legal regulations. The article focuses on personnel policy with regard to senior positions in fiscal administration, whose occupants have leverage over decision-making processes and human resources policy in various agencies. It turns out that after every parliamentary election there is major turnover in the personnel occupying senior positions in the fiscal administration offices, that is, the persons associated with the previous governing team are replaced with individuals enjoying the confidence of those who have just come to power. In light of these findings one can infer that, contrary to the constitutional principles guiding the functioning of the government administration in Poland, its politicians have deliberately designed legal regulations in such a manner as to enable them to assume control over fiscal administration.

In the midst of a pandemic, the Jagiellonian University's Institute of Sociology (in collaboration with its Interdisciplinary Center for Socio-Legal Analyses as well as the Polish Sociological Association) organized a series of Master Lectures. Presented virtually and open to the general public, these meetings with eminent Polish scholars addressed the most crucial and tenacious issues of our times. Active in their homeland as well as globally, the speakers are recognized specialists in sociology, jurisprudence, history, social work, and political science. The format encompassed a lecture followed by an online discussion with all interested attendees; the texts found herein comprise the fruits of those encounters. Disregarding geographic, temporal, and physical divides, this cyberagora created a space in which masters could find themselves amidst colleagues and students, sharing ideas, views, and experiences drawn from various academic disciplines and social milieux.

Reformers had high hopes that the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union would lead to significant improvements in legal institutions and the role of law in public administration. However, the cumulative experience of 25 years of legal change since communism has been mixed, marked by achievements and failures, advances and moves backward. This special issue of the journal Communist and Post-Communist Studies documents the nuances of this process and starts the process of explaining them. This introductory essay draws on the findings of the articles in this issue to explore the impact of three potential explanatory factors: regime type, international influences, and legal (or political) culture. Regime type matters, but allows for considerable variation within authoritarian and democratic states alike and the possibility of reversals. The influence of international organizations (like the European Union) is also far from predictable, especially once states have joined the organization. Finally, legal cultures and political traditions play a large role in explaining developments in individual countries, but there is nothing inevitable about their impact.

Reformers had high hopes that the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union would lead to significant improvements in legal institutions and the role of law in public administration. However, the cumulative experience of 25 years of legal change since communism has been mixed, marked by achievements and failures, advances and moves backward. This book – written by a team of socio-legal scholars – probes the nuances of this process and starts the process to explain them. It covers developments across the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and it deals with both legal institutions (courts and police) and accountability to law in public administration, including anti-corruption activities. In explaining their findings, the authors probe the impact of such factors as the type of political regime (democratic to authoritarian), international influences (such as the European Union), and culture (legal and political).

Der Beitrag über die politische Korruption in Polen gliedert sich in zwei Untersuchungsgegenstände: Die erste Studie befasst sich mit den Ursprüngen der Korruption im post-kommunistischen Polen. Dabei gliedern sich die Ausführungen bzw. das Datenmaterial von 1991 bis 2004 in folgende Punkte zum aktuellen Ausmaß der Korruption: (1) Indikatoren der Korruption - Wahrnehmung, Korruptionspraktiken, strukturelle Korruption; (2) korruptionsfördernde Faktoren - Privatisierungstempo, Handhabung des öffentlichen Beschaffungswesens, Rolle des Geheimdienstes im polnischen Transformationsprozess. Die zweite Studie beleuchtet in einer Fallstudie den Klientelismus in der schlesischen Bergbauindustrie seit Beginn des Transformationsprozesses 1990 bis 2003. Die Befunde basieren auf Netzwerkanalysen, Befragungen sowie Inhaltsanalysen von Wirtschaftsprogrammen zur Restrukturierung dieses Industriezweiges, Artikeln und Inspektionsberichten. Nach einer Darstellung der Organisationsstruktur der Bergbauindustrie werden die Untersuchungsergebnisse in Angaben (1) zum Massenklientelismus im Kontext der Beschäftigungssituation der Bergleute und (2) zum individuellen Klientelismus bzw. Vetternwirtschaft (zusätzliche Einkommensquellen durch die Verbindung der Bergbaugesellschaften zu der Privatwirtschaft) unterteilt. Ferner werden Ausprägung und Ausmaß des Klientelismus anhand der 'Umdrehungen des Positionenkarussells' verdeutlicht, also dem Netzwerk der Machtzirkel in Bergbau und Politik. Abschließend werden in einer Zusammenfassung die Hauptgründe und Konsequenzen für das Auftreten von Netzwerken mit klientelistischen Verbindungen im Bergbau genannt. (ICG2)

Intro -- Table of Contents -- Legal Change in Post-Communist States: Contradictions and Explanations: Peter H. Solomon Jr., Kaja Gadowska -- I. Legal Institutions -- Stemming the Tide of Illiberalism? Legal Mobilization and Adversarial Legalism in Central and Eastern Europe: Mihaela Şerban -- The Fragility of an Independent Judiciary: Lessons from Hungary and Poland-and the European Union: Kriszta Kovács, Kim Lane Scheppele -- Authoritarian Constitutionalism in Putin's Russia: A Pragmatic Constitutional Court in a Dual State: Alexei Trochev, Peter H. Solomon Jr. -- The Evolution of Policing in Post-Soviet Russia: Paternalism versus Service in Police Officers' Understanding of their Role: Olga Semukhina -- II. Legal Accountability inPublic Administration -- Prosecuting High Level Corruption in Eastern Europe: Maria Popova, Vincent Post -- When Civil Engagement is Part of the Problem: Flawed Anti-Corruptionism in Russia and Ukraine: Marina Zaloznaya, William M. Reisinger, Vicki Hesli Claypool -- Constitutional Values and Civil Servant Recruitment: The Principles for Filling Revenue Service Positions in Poland: Kaja Gadowska -- Obtaining Redress for Abuse of Office in Russia: The Soviet Legacy and the Long Road to Administrative Justice: Elena Bogdanova.