Studia nad Autorytaryzmem i Totalitaryzmem

Powściągliwość sędziowska w relacjach ze służbami specjalnymi. Konieczny czy obcy element demokracji?

2024-06-13T19:14:19+02:00

The article poses the following research question: what forms and methods of exercising judicial power in relation to intelligence services serve as a litmus test for democratization or autocratization? A democratic system presupposes that the state’s activities are subject to judicial oversight. This stems from the concept of democracy as a regime governed by the rule of law, while arbitrariness characterizes the essence of authoritarianism. However, the oversight of intelligence services can be a deceptive indicator of the level of democracy, considering that the relationship between the controlling judiciary and intelligence services mirrors the recurring discourse on the role of the executive during a state of emergency. Threats to democracy in the 21st century are no longer limited to conventional armed conflicts or natural disasters governed by state of emergency procedures but increasingly resemble a perpetual confrontation between state structures and terrorism, hybrid conflicts, cyber conflicts, and proxy wars. Even with extreme forms of extrajudicial detention implemented during I & II World War, Western constitutionalism has not relinquished the rule of law, yet it has long tolerated solutions that leave the activities of intelligence services beyond effective control by other branches of power.

Konstytucyjna ochrona godności jako reakcja na przeszłość totalitarną i zabezpieczenie demokracji w przyszłości

2024-06-13T19:24:58+02:00

The constitutional protection of dignity is not only an adequate response of European states to the totalitarian past, but also a mechanism for securing society for the future through democratic systemic structures. The German example confirms this. In theoretical-legal constructions concerning dignity, it is given a character that is fundamental to the whole order, and it is usually perceived as the source of its natural-legal conception. The interpretation of the constitutional norm contained in Art. 1 of the German Constitution, similarly to Art. 30 of our Polish Constitution, is constantly evolving, because the scale of threats and their scope change, which creates new challenges and the need to react at the level of one country, but also to secure appropriate standards on an international scale. Discussions on the liberalization of the execution of the sentence, the constitutionalization of the provisions on extraordinary measures, as well as the radicalization of movements related to the creation and activation of terrorist groups and the problem of today’s intensified religious conflicts have created new challenges for science and jurisprudence. Nowadays, there are problems with the development of technologies that were not taken into account at the time of establishing the Constitution, and where the failure to secure ethical boundaries may pose a real threat to human dignity.

Using the free market against itself? The strategy of promoting national champions by authoritarian regimes — motivations and limitations

2024-06-13T19:39:52+02:00

After the end of the Cold War it seemed that authoritarian regimes are bound to suffer economic marginalization because command economies proved to be unable to compete with free and open markets. Currently, however, we witness a number of non-democratic, authoritarian States capable of abusing market rules to create an unfair advantage to their undertakings — “National Champions” — competing with other enterprises, which are bound into a tight corset of anti-subsidy regulations, so ultimately to achieve regimes’ political goals. In this context, the paper — based primarily on analysis and review of literature and secondarily on dogmatic analysis — by presenting a set of interlinked political and economic motivations seeks to argue that, on the one hand, strategic rejection of free market doctrine is an inherent feature of authoritarian regimes, and on the other, that inefficiencies endemic in non-democratic forms of governments reduce the likelihood of successful implementation of the eponymous strategy. On this basis, the secondary aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual basis for answering the following question: Considering the need to adapt to long-term effects of the current economic uncertainty, are the strategies of creating undue competitive advantages for national champions pursued by many authoritarian regimes serious enough threat to free markets to warrant a response from the international community.

Rola oświadczeń politycznych w implementacji amerykańskiej polityki promowania demokracji w Iraku

2024-06-13T19:57:45+02:00

Along with the enactment of the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998, the US authorities has intensified its efforts for democracy promotion in Iraq, using various methods (negative and positive) and instruments (including military, economic, political). The article analyzes the political statements released by the US government in the context of the Iraqi authorities. The analysis covers the period of 1998–2017, largely referring to the rule of three White House administrations — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, due to the fact that during this period the US government used (to varying degrees) political statements with the purpose of impacting political change in Iraq, including the political system and the formation of the government. The article addresses the following research questions: what impact have the US government’s political statements had on political transition in Iraq? Can statements be an effective tool in the implementation of the democracy promotion policies abroad? The research process focuses on verifying the thesis that the political statements of the different White House administrations formulated in the context of the Iraqi authorities had not only an informative function, but also a propaganda, persuasion and pressure function, effectively influencing the political change process in this country. The results of the conducted analysis indicate that political statements can be an effective policy tool for promoting democracy, exerting a significant influence on the political process in another country. In conclusion, it was emphasized that it is not insignificant with this case study that the addressees were the authorities of a country that is described as a hegemon, which significantly affects the possibilities and scope of influence of the United States of America on the international system.

Przepisy prawa regulujące nadanie i zmianę imienia i nazwiska jako narzędzie formowania nowego społeczeństwa w państwach o ustrojach niedemokratycznych — część I

2024-06-13T20:23:34+02:00

The subject of the article are legal regulations concerning giving and changing names and surnames, analysed in the context of their role in the formation of society in countries with non-democratic systems, including the creation of a model member of such a society. Administrative law and administration will be shown as a tool serving the current interests of the ruling power. The importance of the name and surname in shaping a person’s personality and strengthening his relationship with a specific group will be explained, and the consequences of changes in this area will be indicated. The article will also highlight and discuss two types of provisions of legal acts regulating the granting and changing of a name and surname. The former make it possible to separate the model members of the new society from its enemies and make it easier to identify and eliminate undesirable people (laws in force in the Third Reich). The second enables the creation of a homogeneous society through the forced assimilation of selected individuals (laws in force in People’s Poland aimed at de-Germanisation). The article uses the legal-dogmatic method, consisting in the analysis and interpretation of the texts of legal acts, and the historical and legal method, taking into account the changes of the analysed legal institution over the years. The work also takes into account the practice of applying the law in the researched area.

Ludwig von Mises jako krytyk autorytaryzmu i totalitaryzmu

2024-06-13T20:38:02+02:00

Ludwig von Mises, a prominent representative of the Austrian school, was also a radical critic of authoritarianism and totalitarianism. His criticism was deeply rooted in economic theory, particularly in his authoritative comparative analysis of socialism and capitalism and his original theory of bureaucracy. At the same time, while emphasizing the economic aspects, he ignored the distinction between the two systems, treating any major appropriation of economic power by the state as a fast track to full political and economic control. Reconstructing Mises reasoning, the article discusses in turn the fundamental issues related to the analysis of the socialist order and its relation to authoritarian orders, supplemented by considerations of bureaucracy and war, as well as questions of the importance of democracy and the right to self-determination for the well-being of society.

Rozważania nad istotą demokracji w polskich naukach polityczno-prawnych w okresie międzywojennym. Wprowadzenie

2024-06-13T20:50:14+02:00

The aim of the article is to present reflections on the democracy in the Second Polish Republic, particularly in scientific and political discourse. In order to accomplish this objective, an overview of definitions represented by the most important pre-war researchers of state law as well as active politicians is provided. Also, the basic sources of definitional deliberations and the influence of Western European philosophy on the development of studies of political doctrines in Poland in the interwar period are depicted. The base of reference sources was constituted by encyclopaedias, textbooks, and political press, for the collation of which historical and legal methods (the textual analysis and comparative one) were used. In consequence of the conducted examination, the main directions of redefinition of democracy as a political system were delineated, primarily towards organized democracy which is identified with authoritarian form of government and pure adjectiveless democracy.

Roman Rybarski wobec działań politycznych obozu sanacyjnego w latach 1930–1939 w świetle wystąpień sejmowych i publicystyki

2024-06-13T20:58:59+02:00

Roman Rybarski was one of the leading representatives of the National Party in the Second Polish Republic. As a supporter of parliamentary democracy and a political opponent of the Piłsudskiites, he was critical of the actions of the Sanation camp. Rybarski expressed his criticism in the press and at the parliamentary from the floor of the Sejm. The aim of this article is to present this criticism in the period from the Brest events (1930) to 1939, and to assess whether Roman Rybarski’s concerns about the totalitarianisation of Poland were justified. The work will be based on parliamentary transcripts of Rybarski’s speeches and his journalism.

Charakterystyka prawa totalitarnego i posttotalitarnego Adama Podgóreckiego

2024-06-13T21:09:17+02:00

The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the concept of totalitarian and post-totalitarian law as laid down by a great pioneer and populariser of the sociology of law, one of the finest sociologists of the twentieth century — Adam Podgórecki. This task is to be achieved primarily through the analysis of his works. However, the significance of the historical method cannot be dismissed in these considerations since the so-called “historical background of the period” related to the subjects taken up by Podgórecki bears significance for the characteristics he described. Undoubtedly, as he was an inquisitive researcher of the operation of law in social reality, and their mutual relationships — which he was famous for not only in Poland but also on the international arena — it is worth returning to his concept of these “phenomenal” phenomena, i.e., totalitarian law and post-totalitarian law. The researcher emphasized that in the 20th century, even in societies that were not directly affected by totalitarianism, its indirect impact can be observed. Also, he explained that it was necessary and important to study totalitarian social engineering, its roots, and consequences, because of the inherent threat of the re-emergence of totalitarian and post-totalitarian societies in the future. Law, according to Adam Podgórecki, is a petrified oppression. His analysis of totalitarian and post-totalitarian law revealed that the phenomenon of totalitarianism is too complicated to be compressed into a single theoretical concept. He called for totalitarian law and its heritage to be studied in an interdisciplinary and multidimensional way, that is, combining several levels of theoretical and methodological analysis, which he tried to substantiate. In order to create a universal definition of totalitarian law, he focused on listing its characteristics. He presented post-totalitarian law, in turn, as an internally coherent effect of the long-lasting influence of the authoritarian regime. To confirm this thesis, he pointed to circumstances that reveal traces indicating the impact of totalitarianism on its successor, which is paradoxical at times. Podgórecki’s thoughts focused on the experiential study of law, aimed at helping to formulate rational guidance for the legislature, which inspires the search for the source of these views, and his original, though often controversial theories, prompt reflections on their topicality. Analysis of Adam Podgórecki’s works leads to the conclusion that his characterization of totalitarian and post-totalitarian law, although not without its disadvantages, has many merits. It is done in an insightful, nuanced, and precise way, does not fall into simple schemes, and is characterized by originality and consistency in the application of his previous works.

Pamięć o przeszłości jako uzasadnienie decyzji kluczowych dla teraźniejszości. O zmaganiach Łotwy z Tatjaną Żdanok i Tatjany Żdanok z państwem łotewskim

2024-06-13T21:17:49+02:00

The present article outlines the conflict between the representative of the pro-Kremlin part of the Russian minority in Latvia and the local political community. The case will be presented in the broader context of the problems that emerge due to the constitutionalisation of new democratic communities after the fall of communism, the issues of the rule of law together, with questions of its unlimited inclusiveness. By discussing the case of Tatiana Zhdanok in a broad socio-political and historical context, it will be possible to reflect on Central European dilemmas concerning the values considered to be leading within the political community.

Korea Północna. Modelowy przykład współczesnego państwa totalitarnego

2024-06-13T21:24:29+02:00

Totalitarianism in its classical form represents a general model of state functioning. Depending on the perspective adopted, the authors draw attention to its two basic dimensions: socio-anthropological and systemic, i.e. institutional. Adopting an institutional perspective necessitates a comprehensive analysis of the individual elements of the system, i.e. the dominant, all-encompassing ideology, the mass monoparty, the system of terror, the monopoly on weapons and violence, the centrally controlled economy or the state monopoly on communication, because only if all the elements mentioned are present we can call the system totalitarian. These features were noted by researchers of non-democratic regimes as early as the 1950s on the basis of observations of regimes such as the Third Reich or the USSR. It would seem that with the post-war dynamic social and technological development, concepts previously used to describe social phenomena (including the concept of totalitarianism) would lose their original meaning. However, an analysis of the political system of North Korea allows one to pose the thesis that the so-called post-totalitarian states described today exist alongside totalitarian states in the classical sense of the term. The purpose of this paper is to portray the political system of the DPRK and to try to answer the question of whether we can describe North Korea as a model totalitarian state. The status of North Korea in the literature varies widely. Some researchers describe it as an authoritarian state, others as a totalitarian state, and some even call it a post-totalitarian one. The analysis of the individual elements of North Korea’s political system from the point of view of their totalitarian character also makes it possible to answer an extremely important question for researchers of non-democratic states: does totalitarianism have a clearly defined chronological framework or is it an ahistorical and universal concept? As a result of the analysis, it has been proven that North Korea fulfils all the prerequisites indicated by Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski, as well as those articulated by Hannah Arendt, Alexander Hertz or Roger Scruton necessary to qualify it as a model totalitarian state. Significantly, since the mid-twentieth century, North Korea has had an official Juche (juche) ideology that defines all aspects of state and society. There is also a mass party centred around a leader, a large-scale system of terror, both institutional (e.g. political police, concentration camps) and non-institutional (e.g. a system of neighbourhood control or hunger strikes). The party elite has total control over news broadcasting, with only the available public media saturated with government propaganda. The Korean Labour Party also has undivided power over the Korean military and the economy (which, incidentally, is part of the official Juche ideology). North Korea thus fulfils all the prerequisites to be considered a modern totalitarian state.

The budget and budgetary law of the Polish People’s Republic

2024-06-13T21:37:53+02:00

In Polish People’s Republic, as in other socialist countries, the budget system and the organisational structure of the budget corresponded to the assumptions of the political and socio-economic system of the socialist State. This means that the principles of the management of the budget and budgetary law itself were significantly different from the principles and norms then in force in Western European countries. The aim of this article is to outline how the main stages of the Polish People’s Republic’s budget were forming, as well as to demonstrate the impact of changing tendencies to centralise and decentralise the economy on the structure of the State budget. The first part of the article is devoted to the presentation of the process of adaptation and adjustment of the inter-war fiscal legislation to the new political and economic situation. In the second part, the main phases of the reconstruction of the budgetary system have been analysed. The next two parts of the article refer to the issues of adjustment of the budget system to the decentralisation of the management of the national economy and to the crisis of the early 1980s. The implementation of the research objectives made it possible to formulate the thesis that, despite the changing tendencies towards centralisation and decentralisation, throughout the entire period of the Polish People’s Republic the budget system and the organisational structure of the budget itself corresponded in principle to the assumptions of the political and socio-economic system, at the basis of which lay the principle of democratic centralism and the political and economic unity of the State.

Własność jako prawo zabezpieczające w Polsce w okresie od 1946 do 1990 roku

2024-06-13T21:46:15+02:00

An interesting issue related to the ownership right is whether it can fulfill the function of securing the realization of receivables. The point is to determine whether the ownership right may constitute a law securing compulsory payment of a debt, similarly to pledge rights (pledge, mortgage). This issue was the subject of practice already under the rule of property law of 1946 and the Civil Code of 1964 that is, throughout the period of the socialist economy.¹ Regulation of property rights in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Poland of 1952 and the Civil Code of 1964 was diversified due to the introduction of types of ownership (state, cooperative, individual and personal). Hence the important question whether property rights could be used as a security right at all times, or only with respect to individual or personal property? The property was used to secure credit and loans. Owing to the resolution of the Supreme Court of May 10, 1948, in the absence of an effective lien, the property became a legal means to secure the loan, similar to the German Sicherungsuebereignung. Such a function was fulfilled by the property right in the security transfer of property, both under the decree on property law of 1946 and under the Civil Code of 1964. Despite this, there was still a discussion about the admissibility of using the seizure of property taken over from German law, especially with regard to real estate. The prevailing view was that the collateral transfer could not be applied to state and cooperative property. The banks that granted loans at that time were state-owned or cooperative entities. The loan was granted by a state-owned bank to a state legal person,² which was related to the theory of uniform state ownership, nationwide ownership, or state ownership.

Udział prokuratora w procesie cywilnym w okresie stalinizmu (1945–1956)

2024-06-13T21:57:14+02:00

This article deals with the participation of the prosecutor in the civil trial during the Stalinist period. The article analyzes the various forms of participation of the prosecutor with special attention to his procedural position. The article also addresses the rationale for the prosecutor’s participation and the consequences associated with it. As a result of the changes introduced in 1950, the institution of the prosecutor gained new powers, which were introduced into the Code of Civil Procedure. The study also refers to the influence of Soviet law on Polish law and the expansion of the scope of the prosecutor’s activity at the level of litigation.

Socjalistyczna gospodarka mieszkaniowa jako zadanie administracji państwowej w okresie Polski Ludowej

2024-06-13T22:07:39+02:00

The model of socialist housing policy in Poland, which was shaped in the post-war period, changed as a result of the transformation associated with the political system after 1989. The aim of the publication is to identify and analyse the legal regulations on the organisation and tasks of the state administration in the field of housing management in the years 1944–1989. The characteristics of the housing situation in the Polish People’s Republic and the model of the socialist housing economy, influenced by the patterns coming from the Soviet Union, will be presented. Conclusions will be formulated on the tasks of the state administration in satisfying the housing needs of citizens in the Polish People’s Republic.