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Ukraine has played an extremely important role in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries over the years, mainly due to its position as a transit state. Past energy crises (2006, 2009) have affected the perception of the country in Europe and led to Russian-German energy projects that reduce the level of regional security (e.g., Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2). In Poland, various political parties (Law and Justice, Civic Platform, the Left Party, Polish People's Party) have referred differently to regional cooperation and the function Ukraine might offer in this type of process. In this context, the aim of the article was to analyse the political thought of selected Polish parliamentary parties regarding the importance of Ukraine in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries during Russia's armed attack on Ukraine in 2022. The starting point of the analyses was the general thesis that political parties in Poland treated Ukraine as a key state in efforts to limit the negatively perceived energy policy of the Russian Federation in the region.

European integration processes in Ukraine have led to the approximation of national legislation to European standards, including pet handling. The first and currently the only ratified European convention in Ukraine on protection and ensuring animal welfare is the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. The article describes the major doctrinal, legislative and practical aspects of implementing this Convention into Ukrainian law. The legal regulation of the humane treatment of domestic animals in Ukraine is based on the Law of Ukraine on the protection of animals from cruel treatment, its provisions being of a general nature, and detailed solutions are found in other laws and regulations. Detailed rules for dealing with pets are determined by municipalities and they are implemented in the relevant administrative and territorial units. The concept of "animal rights", despite its proclamation in the preamble to the Law of Ukraine on the protection of animals from cruel treatment, has no formal legal representation and reflection in Ukrainian legislation. Nevertheless, Ukrainian legal academic doctrine, legislative process and law enforcement practice are currently embodying the concept of animal welfare. The development and implementation of a coherent legal mechanism for pet handling is the major contributing factor in achieving pet welfare, therefore Ukraine needs a clear strategy to improve its legal regulation. ; Procesy integracji europejskiej na Ukrainie doprowadziły do dostosowania ustawodawstwa krajowego do standardów europejskich, w tym w zakresie traktowania zwierząt domowych. Pierwszą i obecnie jedyną ratyfikowaną na Ukrainie europejską konwencją w zakresie ochrony i zapewnienia dobrostanu zwierząt jest Europejska konwencja ochrony zwierząt domowych. W niniejszym artykule opisano główne doktrynalne, ustawodawcze i praktyczne aspekty implementacji tej konwencji do prawa ukraińskiego. Podstawą regulacji prawnej humanitarnego traktowania zwierząt domowych na Ukrainie jest ustawa Ukrainy o ochronie zwierząt przed okrutnym traktowaniem, przy czym jej postanowienia mają charakter ramowy, a szczegółowe rozwiązania znajdują się w innych ustawach i rozporządzeniach. Szczegółowe zasady postępowania ze zwierzętami domowymi określają samorządy miejskie i są one realizowane na terenie odpowiednich jednostek administracyjno-terytorialnych. Konstrukcja "prawa zwierząt", pomimo jego proklamacji w preambule ustawy Ukrainy o ochronie zwierząt przed okrutnym traktowaniem, nie ma formalnego zapisu prawnego i odzwierciedlenia w ustawodawstwie ukraińskim. Obecnie ukraińska doktryna naukowa, proces ustawodawczy i praktyka egzekwowania prawa stopniowo jednak wprowadzają koncepcję dobrostanu zwierząt. Podstawą do osiągnięcia dobrostanu zwierząt domowych jest stworzenie i wdrożenie spójnego mechanizmu prawnego ich traktowania, dlatego Ukraina potrzebuje jasnej strategii doskonalenia regulacji prawnej dotyczącej dobrostanu zwierząt domowych.

Adjusting the legal status, and support policies for migrant workers is an issue on the agenda of international institutions for nearly a hundred years. The first efforts to protect foreign workers have been taken during the first session of the International Labour Conference in 1919. In the following decades ILO activities has led to the preparation of three international documents concerning this issue (non-binding ILO Convention No. 66 in 1939, and Convention No. 97 of 1949, and No. 143 of 1975). For many decades, the problem of the protection and assistance of migrant workers' rights was considered as a narrow issue of international labor law. Codification efforts, undertaken during seventies, has led to the adaptation of the UN document (International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families) in 1990, and inclusion this issue into more general area of international human rights law. Despite this fact, and the existence of several categories of documents concerning migrant workers within Council of Europe, the European Union, and even ASEAN, the protection of migrant workers has never been effectively functioning system. The aim of this article is the analysis of the codification of that issue, and the main obstacles to consensus on the protection of migrant workers' rights. The state parties of the UN Convention contains primarily countries of origin of migrants (such as Mexico, Morocco and the Philippines). It seems, therefore, that despite 46 ratifications the, UN convention does not have a global character, and activities of its monitoring body (Committee on Migrant Workers-CMW) reflects primarily demands of sending countries. The article closely examines particularly controversial provisions of the ILO and UN documents from the point of view of current labour migrations and policies of sending and host countries.

Services of general interest form an essential element of the European model of society as a way to increase quality of life and to overcome social exclusion and isolation. They are also at the core of the public debate touching the central question of the role public authorities and the institutions of the European Union play in a market economy. The competencies and responsibilities conferred by the Treaty, the EU regulations and directives lay emphasis on the essential role and the wide discretion of national, regional and local authorities in defining, organizing, financing and monitoring services of general interest. The same time the EU Law provide the European Commission with a wide range of means of action to ensure the compliance of the process of organizing and financing such services according to a comprehensive regulatory regime at Community level to make them compatible with the internal market and to prevent a distortion of the competition rules. The paper indicates divergences of the points of view of public authorities and the Commission on their role, shared responsibility and powers in that process. ; Usługi użyteczności publicznej stanowią zasadniczy element modelu europejskiego, służąc polepszeniu jakości życia i przezwyciężeniu społecznego wykluczenia i izolacji. Pozostają również w centrum publicznej debaty co do roli, jaką w gospodarce rynkowej odgrywają władze publiczne państw członkowskich i instytucje Unii Europejskiej. Kompetencje i obowiązki określone przez Traktat oraz unijne rozporządzenia i dyrektywy podkreślają zasadniczą rolę i szeroki zakres swobody krajowych, regionalnych i lokalnych organów władzy w definiowaniu, organizowaniu, finansowaniu i monitorowaniu usług użyteczności publicznej. Jednocześnie prawo unijne wyposaża Komisję Europejską w liczne instrumenty mające zapewnić zgodność procesu organizowania i finansowania tego typu usług z ogólnym reżimem prawnym Unii – tak, aby uczynić je kompatybilnymi z jej rynkiem wewnętrznym i zapobiec zakłóceniu konkurencji. Artykuł wskazuje na rozbieżności w punktach widzenia władz publicznych i Komisji na ich rolę oraz podział odpowiedzialności i władzy w tym procesie.

Services of general interest form an essential element of the European model of society as a way to increase quality of life and to overcome social exclusion and isolation. They are also at the core of the public debate touching the central question of the role public authorities and the institutions of the European Union play in a market economy. The competencies and responsibilities conferred by the Treaty, the EU regulations and directives lay emphasis on the essential role and the wide discretion of national, regional and local authorities in defining, organizing, financing and monitoring services of general interest. The same time the EU Law provide the European Commission with a wide range of means of action to ensure the compliance of the process of organizing and financing such services according to a comprehensive regulatory regime at Community level to make them compatible with the internal market and to prevent a distortion of the competition rules. The paper indicates divergences of the points of view of public authorities and the Commission on their role, shared responsibility and powers in that process. ; Usługi użyteczności publicznej stanowią zasadniczy element modelu europejskiego, służąc polepszeniu jakości życia i przezwyciężeniu społecznego wykluczenia i izolacji. Pozostają również w centrum publicznej debaty co do roli, jaką w gospodarce rynkowej odgrywają władze publiczne państw członkowskich i instytucje Unii Europejskiej. Kompetencje i obowiązki określone przez Traktat oraz unijne rozporządzenia i dyrektywy podkreślają zasadniczą rolę i szeroki zakres swobody krajowych, regionalnych i lokalnych organów władzy w definiowaniu, organizowaniu, finansowaniu i monitorowaniu usług użyteczności publicznej. Jednocześnie prawo unijne wyposaża Komisję Europejską w liczne instrumenty mające zapewnić zgodność procesu organizowania i finansowania tego typu usług z ogólnym reżimem prawnym Unii – tak, aby uczynić je kompatybilnymi z jej rynkiem wewnętrznym i zapobiec zakłóceniu konkurencji. Artykuł wskazuje na rozbieżności w punktach widzenia władz publicznych i Komisji na ich rolę oraz podział odpowiedzialności i władzy w tym procesie.

The low and constantly decreasing voter turnout in the European Parliamentary elections has recently become a significant concern for both the EU and national authorities. The reasons for this state of affairs, however, to a large extent should be sought in the 'statistical' effect of the EU enlargement by the new member states, where the turnout tends to be low in all types of elections. It should be observed that after the third elections, the turnout in the 'old' EU has stabilized at the level of 52–53%, and the claims that it has decreased dramatically are erroneous. The situation is quite different in the new member states, where the turnout has actually decreased by several percent since the 2004 elections. It can be claimed then that the low turnout is not a result of the member states' citizens' decreasing interest in EU matters, but rather of a general aversion towards politics and politicians. Comparing the turnout in the elections to the European Parliament, and national parliaments, one can observe that the difference is similar in all the countries, and amounts to approx. 30%. This difference follows from the fact that EU citizens treat the European Parliamentary elections as 'second-division elections' (of secondary significance) that in their opinion do not have a significant influence. Therefore, it appears that one should look for the reasons why general turnover has fallen, rather than exclusively at that in EP elections. What will be the remedy for this low turnout? Firstly, the voters need to be informed about the significance of the decisions taken by the EP to their everyday life. Advantageous outcomes could also be provided by the reforms of election law, such as the changed time of the polls or the introduction of preferential voting in all the states. It is also important to continue and develop the campaign which promotes voting, conducted by NGOs, as well as by the EU institutions.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is a descriptive formula used to reflect on asymmetries in economic development and consequential conflict of interests arising between various states of the world. These asymmetries and conflicts of interests have their reflection in these states' environmental policy mix - implemented domestically and pursued in the international context. The emerging map of mutual interests and dependences results from the consideration of external costs and benefits pertaining to respective national environmental policies. The EKC makes it evident that these costs and benefits cannot be evenly spread over all the states. This urges these states to adopt such interjurisdictional arrangements which are based on the identification of a possible multilateral exchange of economic policy favours and international financial transfers. Such an exchange, whenever occurs, has a generalized reciprocity formula. The function of such an arrangement is to make it possible for Nash equilibria to emerge, as such are most likely to produce the highest possible level of effectiveness in the long run. Such a behavior may not be cooperative in the short and medium term, yet the bottom-line cooperativeness is achieved because most states have similar if not the same long-term environmental goals.

The article discusses the electoral system in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elections are the process of citizens electing their representatives for specific positions. In this context, the method and principles of conducting the election are important, so that its fundamental rule - universality - is preserved. Although more than a dozen electoral regulations were in force since 1989 and the traditional model of voting at a polling station was still in place, the Polish legislator also provided for postal and proxy voting. Due to the risk related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem that changes to the Polish Electoral Code will be necessary. The adaptation of the new provisions to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, however, turned out to be too ambitious a task for the domestic legislator. Therefore, the Act of April 6, 2020 on the special rules for holding general elections for the President of the Republic of Poland, ordered in 2020, did not enter into force finally, because the functioning of a democratic state ruled by law requires that fundamental rights and civil liberties, including electoral ones be guaranteed. This study is empirical in nature - it is a case study of a specific legislative action shown in a comparative approach on the example of Poland and the United States of America.

The goal of this article is to an answer to a fundamental dilemma that appears in the organisation and functioning of democratic countries. It arises from the necessity to provide national security while simultaneously ensuring a specific catalogue of values, including citizen laws and freedoms. The author attempts a teleological analysis of the conception of national security in the conditions of a constitutional democracy. After defining the general characteristics of the security conception, the author investigates them in terms of relations between the security of national structures and personal and group interests of the citizens. The author points out their axiological and legal aspects formalised in the fundamental law and underlines the synergic interdependence between the security of national organisational structures and the security of the society – the nation. ; Celem artykułu jest odpowiedź na zasadniczy dylemat pojawiający się w organizacji i funkcjonowaniu demokratycznych państw. Polega on na konieczności zapewnienia bezpieczeństwa przy jednoczesnej ochronie określonego katalogu wartości, w tym praw i wolności obywateli. Autor podejmuje próbę teleologicznej analizy pojęcia "bezpieczeństwo państwa" w warunkach funkcjonowania demokracji konstytucyjnej. Po określeniu ogólnych desygnatów tego pojęcia, rozpatruje je w kontekście relacji ochrony struktur państwa do zabezpieczenia interesów personalnych i grupowych ogółu obywateli. Wskazuje na ich aksjologiczno-prawne aspekty sformalizowane w ustawie zasadniczej oraz podkreśla synergiczną współzależność pomiędzy bezpieczeństwem struktur organizacji państwowej a bezpieczeństwem społeczeństwa – narodu.

The purpose of the article is to analyse the role of the public prosecutor's office as an institution that is specifically embedded in between certain elements of the political system, particularly between the executive and judiciary powers. For this reason, the public prosecutor's office can be regarded, together with courts, as an institution that aims to be actively involved in administering justice and an instrument of the executive power to guarantee internal security and to execute internal functions of the state. The public prosecutor's office, given its specific operation area, is expected to prosecute crimes effectively as well as safeguard the rule of law, which may be threatened by the infringing actions of not only individuals and criminal groups but also of officials and state institutions. Hence, with respect to the accountability of the public prosecutor's office, it should be more independent of the executive power which is subject to political rules. It appears, however, that separating it officially from the executive power does not have to lead automatically to the public prosecutor's office independence of political influence when other direct (the Prime Minister's and the Minister of Justice's authority over the Attorney General) and indirect mechanisms of prosecutors' political dependency (clientelism, politicisation and political bonds of prosecutors with politicians) exist.

The film is one of few examples of political documentaries produced in Poland after 1989. It is not limited to merely outlining the political argument over General Jaruzelski's decision to impose martial law. Although it concerns events in Polish history, it is not a historical documentary, as it brings forth present-day political conflicts that have arisen around historical events. Trying to reconstruct this current political argument, Zmarz-Koczanowicz reaches for a method developed in the 1970s by the so-called "Kraków School" led by Krzysztof Kieślowski. ^e "talking heads" method was meant to help documentary filmmakers in the Polish People's Republic reach what the person in the street actually thought and avoid the distortions of propaganda. For Kieślowski, however, the overriding aim was conciliation and an attempt to understand both sides of the political barricade - the authorities and the vox popu- li. His attitude, according to the terminology suggested by Chantal Mouffe, was a post-political one striving for an agreement through a rational dialogue. Zmarz-Koczanowicz's aim, however, is different: she is intent on showing a clash of different hegemonies that do not strive for consensus. Their agonistic argument, played out in the political register, rather than a moral one, is a guarantee, according to this Belgian philosopher of politics, that democracy will continue to exist.

Establishing legal forms of nature conservation entails a restriction on the right of ownership and other property rights. For this reason, the legislature introduced in the Act of 27 April 2001 on Environmental Protection Law solutions allowing for the purchase of real estate or payment of damages. The provisions of the Environmental Protection Law set out an administrative-judicial procedure of claiming for remedying a damage caused by the legal operation of the public administration related to the protection of environmental resources. This procedure is based on the fact that a claim, essentially of a civil nature (a claim for remedying a damage caused by restricting the use of property) is pursued in two stages – the first in an administrative proceeding in which the administrative authority issues a decision and in the second, where the case is decided by a general court. The first stage is obligatory, in the sense that in the event of a dispute for compensation, the aggrieved party must apply to the administrative body for compensation. The second is initiated as a result of the action of the party dissatisfied with the compensation awarded by the administrative body. ; Ustanowienie prawnych form ochrony przyrody wiąże się z ograniczeniem prawa własności i innych praw rzeczowych. Z tej przyczyny ustawodawca wprowadził w ustawie z dnia 27 kwietnia 2001 r. – Prawo ochrony środowiska rozwiązania umożliwiające domaganie się wykupu nieruchomości lub zapłaty odszkodowania. Przepisy ustawy Prawo ochrony środowiska przewidziały administracyjnosądowy tryb realizacji roszczenia o naprawienie szkody wywołanej legalnym działaniem administracji, związanym z ochroną zasobów środowiska. Tryb ten polega na tym, że roszczenie co do zasady o charakterze cywilnym (roszczenie o naprawienie szkody spowodowanej ograniczeniem sposobu korzystania z nieruchomości) jest dochodzone w dwóch etapach: 1) w postępowaniu administracyjnym, w którym organ administracji wydaje decyzję, oraz 2) w postępowaniu, w którym orzeka sąd powszechny. Pierwszy etap jest obowiązkowy w tym sensie, że w razie sporu o odszkodowanie poszkodowany musi wystąpić do organu administracji o ustalenie odszkodowania. Drugi natomiast jest inicjowany na skutek powództwa strony niezadowolonej z przyznanego przez organ administracji odszkodowania.

The institution of expropriation is an instrument for public authorities to actuate discharge of public tasks that are important for general needs of society. Substantive conditions of expropriation determine activities of public administrative authorities that reach for this instrument while specifying protection of ownership rights under the Polish legal system. In addition, they guarantee constitutional standards of expropriation that also include expropriation procedures regulated by statutes that protect owners' interests against excessive public legal interference with their rights. Securing rights of expropriated property owners is of paramount importance in the perspective of both standards of democratic rule of law and their compliance with axiology of the provisions of the Polish Constitution. The conclusions reached in this paper will help to assess how they fulfil the constitutional determinants of expropriation. ; Instytucja wywłaszczenia jest narzędziem w rękach władzy publicznej urzeczywistniającym realizację zadań publicznych ważnych z punktu widzenia potrzeb ogólnospołecznych. Materialnoprawne przesłanki wywłaszczeniowe determinują aktywność organów administracji publicznej w sięganiu po ten instrument, będąc jednocześnie dookreśleniem ochrony prawa własności w polskim porządku prawnym. Ponadto stanowią gwarancję dochowania konstytucyjnych standardów wywłaszczenia, przez które rozumie się także ustawowo uregulowane procedury wywłaszczeniowe, w ramach których chronione są interesy właścicieli przed nadmierną publicznoprawną ekspansją w ich prawa. Zabezpieczenie praw właścicieli nieruchomości wywłaszczanych ma ogromne znaczenie z punktu widzenia zarówno standardów demokratycznego państwa prawnego, jak i ich zgodności z aksjologią przepisów Konstytucji RP. Poczynione w niniejszym artykule ustalenia pozwolą na ich ocenę pod względem spełnienia konstytucyjnych determinantów wywłaszczenia.

Polish Problems with Genocide According to Rafał LemkinRafał (Raphael) Lemkin is currently the best–known Polish lawyer, whose name appears invariably as a point of departure for international discussions about genocide. He is the author of The German New Order in Poland and in 1944 published Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, containing the term: "genocide". At the time of the Nuremberg Trial Lemkin acted as adviser to United States Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. Subsequently, he worked on devising an act of law that would define the principles of penalising the crime of genocide. On 9 December 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In Poland the revival of interest in Lemkin has its positive and negative sides. The former undoubtedly include changing or rather initiating an alteration of a situation embarrassing or outright insulting for Poland, namely, when Polish–language versions of the above–mentioned books about the Axis occupation were not available and Lemkin was not mentioned in assorted studies. The latter aspect involves his sui generis sacralisation and elevation, hindering a critical discussion about his achievements, since such a debate could be interpreted as questioning them. This article endeavours to examine the conception of genocide from the viewpoint of an historian, and reflects on the extent to which it could become an instrument of historical analysis.

Polish Problems with Genocide According to Rafał LemkinRafał (Raphael) Lemkin is currently the best–known Polish lawyer, whose name appears invariably as a point of departure for international discussions about genocide. He is the author of The German New Order in Poland and in 1944 published Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, containing the term: "genocide". At the time of the Nuremberg Trial Lemkin acted as adviser to United States Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. Subsequently, he worked on devising an act of law that would define the principles of penalising the crime of genocide. On 9 December 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In Poland the revival of interest in Lemkin has its positive and negative sides. The former undoubtedly include changing or rather initiating an alteration of a situation embarrassing or outright insulting for Poland, namely, when Polish–language versions of the above–mentioned books about the Axis occupation were not available and Lemkin was not mentioned in assorted studies. The latter aspect involves his sui generis sacralisation and elevation, hindering a critical discussion about his achievements, since such a debate could be interpreted as questioning them. This article endeavours to examine the conception of genocide from the viewpoint of an historian, and reflects on the extent to which it could become an instrument of historical analysis.