Legislation In Poland Research Articles

The content of the human right to health protection

This article reveals the content of the human right to health care. The difference between the concepts of the right to health and the right to health care is studied and the definition of these concepts is provided. The article analyzes the international legal acts that enshrine the right to health and examines the system of national legislation in the field of protection of the right to health care.
 The legislation of Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic and Estonia is analyzed and the differences in their legal regulation of this issue are determined.
 The three key obligations of the state regarding the right to health care are defined and divided into three categories, namely the obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the duties assigned to it.
 It was emphasized the need to adopt the developed draft strategy for the development of the health care system until 2030, which has already been published for public discussion and is being prepared for adoption, in order to develop the state's medical system, promote the health and well-being of citizens by ensuring fair access to quality medical services , building sustainable health care systems.
 It was concluded that the content of the right to health care is that the state provides various favorable conditions and available high-quality goods and services necessary for the highest attainable level of health. The priority directions of the development of the domestic health care system have been determined.
 It has been established that the content of the right to health care consists in the provision by the state of a variety of favorable conditions, available and high-quality goods and services necessary for the highest attainable level of health, through ensuring access to health care facilities, high-quality goods and services on a non-discriminatory basis basis, a safe environment, as well as establishing responsibility for violations of human rights in the field of health care.

Implementation of the Istanbul Convention into the National Criminal Legislation in Poland

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (further: Istanbul Convention) became part of the Polish legal system on August 1, 2015. The ratification process of the Istanbul Convention was marked with difficulties from its very opening for signature. The provisions of the Convention have caused – and continue to arouse – a range of extreme emotions and doubts. The fierce dispute that has emerged over the implementation of the Convention in Poland at some point even led to action being taken for termination. As things have been to date, Poland has not terminated of the Istanbul Convention. Five years following ratification of the Convention, in March 2020, Poland submitted a report on the implementation of measures giving effect to its provisions into the Polish legal system, as required under the monitoring mechanism. Poland’s report was considered by GREVIO, with an assessment made of Polish legislation in this regard and an evaluation report issued in June 2021. Notwithstanding the comments that Poland made to the GREVIO report, the key conclusions of the assessment should be highlighted as regards compliance of Polish criminal legislation with the standard of protection of women against violence, including domestic violence, under the Convention. Since the Convention was opened for signature, and in particular since its ratification, the Polish legislator has introduced a range of amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at raising the standard of protection for victims of domestic violence and of effective prosecution of offenders. This text highlights the most important of these changes and presents the current state of implementation of the Istanbul Convention into Polish criminal law.

The impact of clinical education on knowledge and attitudes towards brain death among Polish medical students – a cross-sectional study

BackgroundUnderstanding brain death is essential for progress in organ transplantation; however, it remains a challenging ethical matter. In 2019, Poland revised its legislation on brain death to align with international standards. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and worldview concerning brain death among Polish medical students, categorised according to their stage of education.MethodsAn online questionnaire was administered to 169 medical students from four Polish medical universities. The participants were divided into preclinical (n = 94) and clinical (n = 75) groups. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, with the first part comprising 13 questions focusing on knowledge about brain death and the process of its determination. The second part contained six questions related to the participants' worldview regarding brain death, particularly concerning organ transplantation.ResultsThe average score obtained by the respondents was 7.53 (± 2.35; min. 1, max. 13) in knowledge checking part of the developed questionnaire (maximal score:13). Students in the clinical stage of their education achieved significantly higher scores compared to preclinical students (mean 8.84; ± 1.89 vs mean 6.49; ± 2.15; p < 0.001). Significant correlations were found between the results of the knowledge part of the questionnaire and responses to worldview questions.ConclusionsThe stage of education influenced the knowledge of brain death among medical students, although the overall test scores were unsatisfactory. Higher test scores were associated with worldview responses indicating compliance with the current legislation in Poland and evidence-based medicine.

Responsibility of the carrier for breach of contract of cargo transport by road transport according to the legislation of Ukraine and the EU

The article examines the specifics of the carrier’s responsibility for breaching the terms of the contract of carriage of goods by road under the legislation of Ukraine and the EU, in particular, the regulatory legal acts establishing liability are analyzed, and certain problems of legal regulation are pointed out. It was determined that the legislation regulating the issue of liability for the violation of the terms of the contract of carriage of goods by road is based on international legal acts, general legislation and special legislation. Liability for late delivery of goods under the contract of carriage of goods by road is characterized in the legislation of Poland and Germany. The positions of scientists regarding the principle of limited liability in transport legal relations are presented.Analyzing the legislation on the transportation of goods by road transport, the following characteristics of responsibility under the contract of carriage are highlighted: 1) in the legislation of Ukraine, the responsibility of the parties for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the terms of the contract for the carriage of goods by road transport is regulated by the general legislation that regulates the issue of responsibility for the carriage of goods for all types of transport , as well as a special one, which directly regulates the issue of liability for violation of the contract for the carriage of goods by road transport; 2) the basis for compensation is not just a breach of obligations, but a culpable breach; 3) liability under the contract of carriage is limited to the value of the cargo; 4) comparing the legislation of foreign countries (Poland and Germany), it is worth noting that the amount of compensation for the delay in the delivery of the cargo is limited to double and triple the fee for transportation, which is a larger amount compared to the national legislation.It is emphasized that the responsibility of the carrier for non-compliance with the conditions of cargo storage must be changed to full responsibility in the norms of the Central Committee of Ukraine and the norms of transport legislation, which will allow to fully protect the rights and legitimate interests of the injured party of the obligation

Rationalization of the local budget economy: a comparative analysis of the legislative basis in Poland and Romania in the concepts of positive law and natural law

Motivation: The contrast between positive law and natural law regarding the rationalization of public budget management is strongest at the local government level. Local government finances are governed by the budget law enacted by parliament. However, it is at the subnational level of government where the natural right to self-determination and making rational decisions in the interest of local communities is most apparent.Aim: This article evaluates and compares the scope and instruments of Polish and Romanian budget laws that enable the rationalization of managing subnational budgets from the perspective of positive law and natural law. The article is based on research using qualitative methods (a literature review and a critical examination of financial legislation in Poland and Romania) and a descriptive comparative analysis.Results: The research confirms the main thesis of the article that the pillar of budget management rationalization in Polish and Romanian local governments is a symbiosis of positive law with natural law, the underpinning and enhancement of which should be formal legislation.

The actual state of the geodetic and cartographic resources and legislation in Poland

Abstract Official data, including national geodetic and cartographic resources, are integrated in a spatial reference system. This study outlines national resources in Poland as an important part of the spatial information infrastructure in the European Community. They also provide reference data, including: geodetic control networks, base map, and topographic maps, for other resources of spatial data infrastructure. The study presents changes in the methods of sharing geo-data and technical standards for their collecting in the last few years, and additionally also presents some aspects of progressing geodetic and cartographic resources and legislation in Poland. It was noted that modern national geoportal or regional and district resources and progress, especially in the form of their standardization of presentation, enable to promote the use of spatial data in Poland and their popularization among the international community.

The struggle for marital equality beyond Cold War political divides: transnational relationships between Polish and Spanish women lawyers in the 1960s and 1970s

ABSTRACT This article discusses the transnational relationships between women lawyers from Poland and Spain that developed within the International Federation of Women in Legal Careers (Fédération Internationale des Femmes des Carrières Juridiques, FIFCJ) from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. Drawing on archival material and published sources, it traces the history of relations between the Spanish lawyer María Telo Núñez and the Spanish Association of Women Lawyers, and Zofia Wasilkowska and Maria Stypułkowska from the Section of Women Lawyers (Sekcja Kobiet Prawników, SKP) of the League of Women (Liga Kobiet) in Poland. Women lawyers from both countries joined the Federation at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, and met at international meetings, two of which were held in Warsaw and Madrid. This analysis focuses on the forms and meanings of exchange between these women and their influence on legal changes in civil and family legislation in Poland and Spain during the mid-1970s. Developing a mutual interest in the family law of both countries, these women strategically framed their activity as apolitical. Transnational relationships between lawyers and activists from two contrasting dictatorships reveal the importance of professional networking in overcoming political and ideological divides in the struggle for women’s rights in Cold War Europe.

The influence of moral principles on the formation of a healthy family according to blessed father Michał Sopoćko

The article is based on the doctoral thesis of blessed father Michał Sopoćko: “The family in the legislation on Polish soil. Ethical and moral study ”, which he defended in Vilnius in 1926. The Author dedicated his work to the legislators who were working on creating the state legislation in Poland after regaining independence after 123 years of partitions, in order to unify the family law which was diversed in various partitions. This dissertation presents the moral aspects concerning the family discussed by Father Michał Sopoćko with regard to the contemporary social norms. The article is divided into 3 chapters: 1. The general concept and position oft he family in moral theology; 2. The mutual relations of the spouses; 3. Relations between parents and children Chapter 1. presents the basic role of the natural law, reference to the conscience and property law. Chapter 2 is focused on marital relations, among which the most important one is the integrity of the marital union, next there is a debate on the mutual life as a relation of two people of equal dignity with the variety of tasks and the property relations. Chapter 3 is a reference to the tasks which are connected with the childcare. It contains information about education, material security and the duties of parents and children and about the problems connected with divorces and maintaining illegitimate children. The article emphasises the importance, validity and contribution of Father Michał Sopoćko to establishing legislation which concerns the family in the independent Poland.

Polish Higher-Education Institutions in International Cooperation: Evidence from the European Union Framework Programmes

Objective: Polish higher-education institutions (HEIs) compete for European funds with excellent European universities that have comprehensive support systems for applying for research grants. This paper’s aim is to analyse the patterns of participation of Polish higher-education institutions in the 7th and 8th EU framework programmes, and their relationship with the characteristics of universities and national and geographical effects. Research Design &amp; Methods: This article uses the CORDIS database for analysing data concerning projects financed under FP7 and the Horizon 2020 Programme. Findings: The literature emphasises the weak starting position of Polish entities in competing for international grants. The low results of Polish institutions in EU FPs might be due to many factors, including system and structural, institutional, and mental barriers. Implications / Recommendations: There is the necessity for a detailed examination of the determinants of the success of research proposals and the development of a system that will support strategic decisions on applying for grants at Polish universities in order to increase the absorption of EU funds. Contribution / Value Added: New legislation in Poland has forced universities to change their expectations towards academic staff in order to achieve the highest possible categorisation of disciplines and universities. Polish scientists are under pressure to publish their research in reputable journals. Therefore, it might be possible to observe a direct emphasis on application for research grants and timely settlement of projects in case of obtaining grants.

Preventing Food Waste in the Food Retail Sector in the Light of the Current Legislation in Poland

Abstract Food loss and waste are one of the main problems of global civilization that stir great emotions, especially among the inhabitants of affluent countries of the northern-hemisphere. All actors at the various stages of the food chain, from producers and processors to retailers and final consumers, influence this phenomenon. To combat this problem, many hours and energies are spent both by those involved in grassroots social initiatives and by national and international institutions. Any entity aware of the magnitude of the food waste problem (entrepreneur, citizen, NGO, etc.) entitled to take advantage of concessions, incentives and exemptions from public tributes is a more effective ally in the fight against this scourge of the 21st century than an economic participant constantly punished and sanctioned, and consequently expending most of its energy on tax optimization.

Effective communication between hospital staff and patients in compliance with personal data protection regulations.

Secure communication between patients and health care facilities is especially important In 2016, the European Union (EU) introduced a new regulation — the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), applicable in all EU member states — aimed at improving protection of personal data. The GDPR provides broad guidelines on data protection, but generally lacks specific details. Consequently, although member states must comply with the GDPR, there is some flexibility to develop new regulations to suit national characteristics and practices, especially in key economic sectors, such as health care. The aim of the present article is to discuss the benefits and limitations of legal provisions governing the patient identification (both in-person and remotely). This analysis is based on Polish laws that were recently passed to comply with the GDPR. In some cases, these data protection regulations may be unnecessarily strict, making routine care more difficult than intended by the GDPR. National legislation in Poland imposes strict data protection measures, such as prohibiting the public display of patient names or calling out the patient’s name in public. However, after health care personnel around the country criticised many of these measures, the law will be modified to address those concerns. For example, the patient’s name can be displayed on a wrist band and on containers with the patient’s medicines. Nonetheless, numerous questions still need to be resolved to adapt the general data protection rules to ensure the effective operation of the hospital to avoid problems related to accurate patient identification.

Wetlands in Poland and Russia: The Legal Framework for Their Protection and Use

The authors explore the ecological value of wetlands, the notion that laid the foundation of the Ramsar Convention and boosted the development of national legislation for the protection of these ecosystems in many countries. The authors analyzed the main instruments of wetland protection, set out in the Ramsar Convention, and investigated the effect of the Convention on the development of legislation in Poland and Russia. The authors showed that wetlands can be located both within the boundaries of specially protected natural zones and beyond them, which complicates their legal protection. The development and introduction of a new legal concept of semiprotected areas can be a solution to this problem. Semiprotected areas have a less stringent regime compared to nature reserves or national parks. At the same time, they effectively limit economic and other types of activities posing a threat to wetlands. This design of legal protection provides new opportunities for the rational use of wetland resources.

Perspektywy rozwoju zawodu doradcy restrukturyzacyjnego

This paper aims to determine the directions of development of the profession of restructuring advisor in Poland. The analysis of the law regulating this profession will help answer the question of whether in its present form the profession of restructuring adviser has the character of a profession of public trust in accordance with Article 17(1) of the Polish Constitution. These findings are important for determining whether the legislator should create a self-governing body of restructuring advisors, which should be a key element in establishing the principles of the profession. A direction of the discussion defined in such a way first requires a historical and legal analysis of the legislation relating to a bankruptcy administrator. This analysis culminates in a description of the process of transformation of the profession of a bankruptcy administrator into the profession of a restructuring advisor and an analysis of the current legislation, which allows determining the nature of the profession of restructuring advisor. The paper deals with the issues of how the professional self-government functions, and the ethics of the profession of restructuring adviser. It discusses the problems of currently operating organizations bringing together persons performing the profession of restructuring adviser, their status, and the validity of the legal acts issued by these entities.The above remarks on Polish legislation are contrasted with the legal situation in the Federal Republic of Germany to show the extent of the changes in this legislation in Poland over the last thirty years. In this article, attention is drawn to the need to enact additional legislation in this field in Poland. Future directions of the development of the profession of restructuring advisor as a profession of public trust are also evaluated through an analysis of both Polish constitutional law and European Union law, in particular,Directive 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and the Council relating to restructuring and bankruptcy.

The Flypaper Effect and Desirable Legislative Changes to Local Government Financing Systems

A substantial portion of local government funding in Poland comes from intergovernmental transfers. It may lead to the flypaper effect, which means that external revenues contribute to greater local government spending than locally-collected revenues. This study analyses how different revenue categories influenced local government spending in Poland between 2009 and 2018. Panel econometric models are used to test a hypothesis about whether the flypaper effect occurred in that period and to identify the potential causes. The results confirm to some extent that all three levels of local government were affected by the flypaper effect, and they point to intergovernmental transfers (general grants, specific grants, and shares of corporate income tax revenue) as the main causes. The research findings can be of use in reforming local government funding legislation in Poland and other countries, especially when the size of the public sector and public spending need to be reduced.

The Role of the Central Bank in Foreign Exchange Inspection in Selected Countries of the European Union – as seen in the Example of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany

The activity of central banks in EU states is based on similar assumptions. Their aim is usually to maintain a stable level of prices and to support the state’s economic policy. Central banks are responsible for issuing money and for monetary policy. They have been equipped with adequate instruments to this end. The aim of this research is to demonstrate that legislation in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany vested another important function in the central banks, namely foreign exchange inspection. However, this function is exercised differently in each of them. The central banks of countries referred to above are not only responsible for currency in circulation within the country but also for the balance of payments. Also, by pursuing their own foreign exchange policy they ensure an adequate position of the national currency in relation to foreign ones. The foreign exchange inspection in each of these countries is based on a different tradition and at the same time outlines the special role of the central bank. The analysis herein makes it possible to establish the scope of this inspection, taking into account the dynamics of changes that occur on the legal ground. What is also important here is whether a given country is only a member of the European Union or a member of the EU and of the euro area. The adopted research methodology is based on analysis of legislation in force with a reference to views expressed by legal commentators.

Where there is a will, there is a way: some remarks on institutional distance in the Polish-German borderland

This study concerns the problem of institutional distance between local government units, and its impact on the cross-border cooperation of regional and local authorities in the Polish-German borderland. Contrary to cross-border cooperation per se, the analyzed notion is not featured regularly in the subject literature. Above all, the existing studies focus on the forms of, barriers to, and conditions for cross-border cooperation, the assessment of cross-border cooperation projects co-financed by the EU, and the broadly conceived social and economic cross-border ties. On the other hand, there is a shortage of studies analyzing the competencies of various local government units with regard to cross-border cooperation. Hence, this article examines the competencies of local government units with respect to cross-border cooperation based on the example of the Polish-German borderland. The adopted research method involves the analysis of the subject literature, domestic legislation in Poland and Germany, and the documents and legal acts of the Council of Europe and the EU.

Evolution of the Abortion Law and its Practice in Poland Against the Background of the Current Legal Framework in New Zealand

The article presents a comparative study on abortion legislation in Poland and New Zealand. It includes a historical overview of the social and political influences shaping the contemporary approach to abortion in these countries. The aim of the article is to discuss the changes to the Polish and New Zealand abortion legislation and the current procedures required to access abortion. This article highlights differences in approaches to this issue in both countries where abortion laws have evolved recently in opposite directions. In New Zealand, after removing abortion from the Crimes Act 1961, abortion ceased to be the subject to criminal law, while in Poland where one of the strictest anti-abortion laws had been in force already, a ban was imposed on abortion which made it practically impossible for women to access legal abortions.

The Judgment That Wasn’t (But Which Nearly Brought Poland to a Standstill)

The Constitutional Tribunal (hereafter: the Tribunal), firmly controlled by the Law and Justice party and chaired by Mrs Julia Przylebska, who was unlawfully appointed to the position of the President of the Tribunal (though properly elected, earlier, as a judge of the Tribunal), as part of a panel partly comprised of persons not legally appointed judges of the Tribunal, announced that provisions of the law allowing pregnancies to be terminated when there is a high probability of a severe or irreversible foetal impairment or when the foetus is diagnosed with an incurable and life-threatening disease – are unconstitutional. 2 Hours later, the streets of cities and towns, large and small, all over Poland, teemed with tens of thousands and later hundreds of thousands of protesters loudly proclaiming their opposition – frequently using expletives so far unheard of in public spaces – to this assault on fundamental human rights paraded as a legitimate judicial act as part of the Tribunal’s constitutional review of legislation. 3 The protest, initially aimed at the Tribunal’s pronouncement, quickly turned into a global protest against the Law and Justice party’s rule over Poland in general, at first triggering incredulity in government circles and then prompting a series of nervous reactions from them. The ‘compromise’ consisted of a generalised ban on abortion save in three situations: (i) when pregnancy posed a threat to the woman’s life or health (regardless of the stage of development of the foetus);(ii) when pre-natal tests or other medical procedures indicated a high probability of a severe and irreversible foetal impairment or when the foetus is found to be afflicted with an incurable and life-threatening disease (prior to the foetus becoming viable outside the body of the pregnant woman);and (iii) when there are legitimate reasons to suspect that the pregnancy is a result of a prohibited act, such as rape or incest (in which case abortion was allowed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy). [...]from day one, legislation in Poland has been shaped without regard to the prevailing standards for women’s rights and the protection of reproductive rights. The first move to amend the law was made in 1996 when the then ruling left-wing coalition voted to allow pregnancies to be terminated by women finding themselves in difficult living conditions or dramatic personal circumstances. 10 On 28 May 1997, however, the full panel of 12 judges of the Tribunal ruled – with three dissenting opinions – the latter amendment unconstitutional. 11 The Tribunal argued that the so-called ‘social premise’ for abortion, ‘serves to legalise the termination of pregnancies without sufficiently demonstrating the need to safeguard some other constitutional value, right or liberty, while also relying on vague legalisation criteria, thereby undermining the constitutional guarantees serving to protect human life’.

Idiosyncratic Ambiguities of Queer(able) Experience in Polish Film in the Early 2010s

ABSTRACT The search for queer/queerable moments in the post-1989 Polish cinema is a frustrating feat. While increasingly featuring LGBTQ+ characters, especially in the current decade, Polish cinema films rarely break away from heteronormative and, less frequently, homonormative stereotypization, which takes on a limited range of offensive or empathetic manifestations. The former, represented by low-brow comedies, such as Weekend (dir. Cezary Pazura, 2010) and Sex Change (dir. Konrad Aksinowicz, 2009), would continue the infamous tendency of cis-male filmmakers to poke fun at anal sex and dildos, which they apparently identify as representative of non-heteronormative sexual practices and behaviours. The latter, usually featuring one or two gay or lesbian characters in the roles of sidekicks to the protagonists, would constitute sympathetic responses to socio-political situations of LGBTQ individuals in Poland, marked by homophobia, coming-out hardship, and/or heavily non-egalitarian legislation in Poland. Yet, in the early 2010s, a few cinema films brought about cracks in the dominating trend, proposing instead multi-layered though heavily ambiguous studies of non-heteronormative characters living in contemporary Poland. Suicide Room (dir. Jan Komasa, 2011) presents a story of adolescent homophobia in a private secondary-school setting, simultaneously questioning the sexual identification and cis-ness of the protagonist. Floating Skyscrapers (dir. Tomasz Wasilewski, 2013) focuses on a cis-male swimmer who falls in love with an openly gay male while being in a romantic relationship with a woman. Secret (dir. Przemyslaw Wojcieszek, 2012) combines a reflection on non-heteronormative forms of kinship and of sexual identification with the non-memory of Shoah – it is one of several films released around that time, which are reactionary towards the discussion concerning the Polish participation in the pogroms on the Jewish Poles in the 1930s-1940s.

Prohibition of discrimination and violation of the student’s dignity

The article deals with the subject of disciplinary responsibility of female and male students from the perspective of discriminatory behaviour. Anti-discrimination legislation in Poland, apart from the employment sphere, does not provide protection against discrimination. The Act on the implementation of certain provisions of the European Union in the field of equal treatment introduces broad protection of only some legally protected features. Universities, in the sense of responsibility for the safety and protection of the academic community, introduce internal anti-discrimination regulations, emphasizing important values and principles that every male and female student should follow. Socio-political conditions may influence the disciplinary proceedings of male and female students. Assessment of the breach of the student’s dignity as one of the premises of disciplinary liability encounters many difficulties and more and more often may refer to the conflict of freedom of speech and the right to equal treatment.