The author analyses the pattern of governance of the right-wing parties in Poland between 2015 and 2019. It bears many features of a concentration of powers as a method of achieving desired goals in the sphere of political competition and public policy along with the use of informal components. The manifestation of concentration of power is centralisation, understood as the transfer of functions of the state from the lower (in particular local government) levels to the higher, as well as strong interference of the central government in many areas of public life that previously remained apolitical.
The article presents issues related to the occurrence of political risk in local government in Poland. It will attempt to identify the symptoms to demonstrate the possibility of a political budget cycle in local government units. On the basis of budgetary data an empirical analysis of local governments will be carried out, with a particular emphasis on debt levels, capital expenditures, and a result of the budget in the years of local elections and pre-election periods. The presented research results cover all categories of local government units, i.e., municipalities, cities with poviat rights, poviats, and voivodships. The time range of the analysis is 2003-2019. The empirical part is preceded by a literature review, both in terms of the election cycle and the risk related to local debt management. The adopted structure of the article allows obtaining an answer to the question of whether there is a political risk in the surveyed entities.
The fact of women not being awarded political rights in the first stage of forming a representative system of government marks the beginning of the period of struggle for their political inclusion. This paper presents the process of fighting for women's political inclusion, its stages, participants, strategies, arguments for granting electoral rights to women followed by their participation in decision-making processes on equal terms with men.
Over the last two decades, family law has undergone changes in Western Europe, widening the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. In addition, some East European countries offer a legal recognition of civil unions of same-sex couples, while others do not offer any legal recognition at all. This diversity in family law has been recently challenged by developments at the European level. It is argued here that this constitutes an adaptational pressure on those European Union (EU) member states that do not offer any or offer only formal recognition of same-sex couples. We examine two cases when member states faced such an adaptational pressure, namely Estonia and Latvia, focusing on the interplay of two types of factors. First is that of formal institutions which, due to their constitutional role or their expertise in the EU law, may act as facilitators of legal changes. On the other hand, there are also political actors which have tried to constrain such an adaptation. We examine here especially the role of two political parties which have made a considerable effort to oppose the change in the two countries. It is argued here that the ideological orientation of these parties explains, at least partly, their opposition to the ongoing Europeanization of family law. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main findings and their implications.
Language rights – their understanding and implementation are an important element of a state's language policy, constituting a significant issue in the field of research on public policy. Within the scope of these studies, researchers do not agree on an exhaustive list of beneficiaries of these rights and, consequently, on how the catalogue of language rights should appear. The author of the paper aims to attempt to address this issue by proposing a definition of natural language that fully meets the current requirements for developing a legal standard for language rights. The considerations in the work are conducted from the perspective of models for language as an act of communication and R. Ruiz's heuristic patterns in order to clarify the significance of language in society.
The article examines if Poland can, in accordance with international law, effectively combat pressure on the border with a country de facto supporting an aggressor. Analysis of, among others, the Geneva Refugee Convention, EU law, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and jurisprudence validate previous findings that right to life and prohibition of torture are non-derogable, permitting to protect borders and fight with terrorism. National procedures are challenged by a need to individualize decisions refusing entry and denying protection. Still, this does not justify violating human rights.
The role of courts in the protection of individual and the so-called judicial lawmaking are theoretical issues of a major importance for legal practice (law application), as they concern the answer to the question of what a judge when the statutory provisions, in the opinion of the court, are outdated or insufficient in relation to the factual situation being resolved, due to ongoing alterations in social relations. The aim of the study is to point out the role of administrative courts in protecting the rights of children of same-sex couples. Contemporary phenomena operating on a European scale, such as open borders and migrations, pluralism of lifestyles, or the development in infotech and biotech (also medical technologies), are reflected in legal relationships regulated by various branches of law, including the norms regulating cases falling within the scope of cognition of administrative courts. They are also, inter alia, a source of problems in the title area related to the interpretation of such norms. Case-law can play an important role in both dynamically interpreting the law within social realities, unifying practice and rising the awareness of rights protection. The title subject is presented in the light of European law – primarily in the light of standards and principles of law, the sources of which are: traditions of European states and national law, inter- and supranational regulations and case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It is worth noting that, as far as EU law is concerned, there has been no harmonisation or unification at the community (or Convention) level in this area due to lack of delegation the relevant competences to the European Union by the Member States. According to the principle of conferral, the Union can only act within the scope of its competence and has only as much competence as the Member States have conferred on it. Thus, all matters not explicitly indicated as EU competences remain under the autonomous regulation of the Member States. However, these title matters fall – indirectly – within the scope of the norms provided for by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights – ECHR). The paper shows that administrative courts – which as a rule are to pass conservative and formalistic judgements – are able to refer to the value of flexibility in the law application, when it is necessary to grant protection to the rights of children of same-sex couples.
As a result of permanent crises, changing political circumstances, rise of populism and overwhelming socio-cultural conflicts, recently liberal democracy is on the decline. This process strongly affects the civil sector, which in the 21st century is still considered one of the main defenders of democracy and human rights. Civil sector also performs a couple of functions that help them try to monitor the state (watchdog function), protect citizens, minorities, human rights, environment, animals etc. and provide a normative behavioural attitude. Nowadays in many countries the activities of civil organizations are restricted, displaced or terminated. Focusing on those countries where democratic backsliding process can be clearly observed, this study examines the background and forms of the process by which civils turned from partners to "enemies" in the last decade.
The role and importance of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in solving global problems, developing human rights, democratic principles, reforms, modernizing public life and developing a global civil society is constantly increasing. INGOs have become new actors in the system of world politics and international relations. There was a need to study the activities of INGOs around the world in the field of history, law, sociology, philosophy, political science. In recent years, many INGOs have appeared in the world, and they work in all countries of the world in such priorities as ensuring human rights, freedom of speech, the economy, the social sphere, the environment, etc. Today, there is an increasing need for a comprehensive study of the activities of INGOs, trends in their increase in the number and rapid growth, influence on the domestic and foreign policies of states and in shaping the global political agenda. The emergence of global problems and the lack of strength and political will of some countries to solve them slow down the integration processes around the world. Especially, there is a need for cooperation in the issues of democratization, liberalization and modernization of public administration and public life. Therefore, today the role and participation of INGOs in solving such issues is increasing. An important result of INGO activity is constructivism and pragmatism.
During the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Fifth Republic, the longevity and vitality of the Constitution was explained by its ability to adapt to all political situations, such as the alternation of right and left or cohabitation. The fundamental issue highlighted by the authors of the study is to guarantee the continuity of public policies and thus the effectiveness of public action. They show the evolution of institutions, the nuances of political practices, raise numerous questions, but do not question the legitimacy of maintaining France's system under the Fifth Republic.
The term anti-politics refers to a whole catalog of phenomena such as the decline in citizens' interest in politics and participation in formal political institutions the process of depoliticization and technocratization of democracy and the rise inpopularity of right-wing populist parties and nationalism. The purpose of this article isto explore what anti-politics really is. This requires not only going beyond an analysis of current politicsbut also a pure descriptivism that simply registers changes in the attitudes of participants in public life. It is necessary to look at this complex phenomenon not only in the long termbut in different interpretive contexts
The article analyses the duration of parliamentary debate in the lawmaking process in the period when Poland was governed by populist groups (2015–2019). These groups (the United Right) are critical of the modern idea of parliamentary democracy, and populist parties treat a debate in the Parliament as a political technique rather than an important political and ethical value. Formally, contemporary populism does not deny the Parliament but lowers its rank and clearly instrumentalises it, which is manifested in the practice of limiting discussion, not taking up talks, and imposing the majority's will. At the same time, the Parliament reflects the real attitude of populist groups to the political opposition and their attempts at its political annihilation.
Civil society is an indispensable component of a functional democratic state. The development of civil society is dependent on a number of factors, including the work of the education system. Education is the crucial space for shaping civic attitudes and acquiring competences necessary for a society that is aware of its rights and active in the public sphere. A significant majority of educational institutions is administratively supervised by local government units. The purpose of this paper is to indicate how local authorities can play a role in the shaping of civil society by performing tasks (both obligatory and additional, non-compulsory ones) related to education.
The aim of the article was to define the attitude of Polish parliamentary political parties towards the issue of climate change in the years 2005–2019. Discourse Network Analysis, used in the study, allowed to identify the most frequently co-occurring concepts expressed by different parties over the past fifteen years, as well as, to present the affiliation networks between the parties. The postulates regarding climate policy proposed by Polish election committees were gradually modified in the analyzed period. The gradual convergence of pro-climate positions of Polish parliamentary parties is visible over time, while the structure of anti-climate positions becoming less coherent. However, there is still a visible difference in the approach to climate protection between the centrist and left-wing parties and those identifying themselves as right-wing.
