Essence of Self-governance Illustrated with an Example of the Professional Self-government Body of Legal Counsels (in Poland)

Abstract

The subject of the article covers the issues concerning the concept of self-government and the constitutionally differentiated types thereof, which realise the principle of decentralisation of public power. The systemic principles of the functioning of the democratic state are defined by the operation of self-governments, including the professional self-government bodies which associate the people who perform the public trust professions. Therefore, it plays a key role both in forming the political system of the state and, consequently, in performing public tasks. The aim of the article is to show the basic features of self-governance which form this concept. It in turn allows to define the essence of self-governance, however, not only abstractly but on a given example – the professional self-government of legal counsels in Poland. The basic thesis of the article is the statement that the self-governance is the best form of exercising power in the democratic systems, which enables the proper performance of the public tasks of major importance. It concerns both the territorial self-governments and professional self-governments, but also, first and foremost, the ones that associate the people who perform the professions of public trust, and the legal counsel is one of such professions.