Table of contents

PUBLIC LAW INSTITUTIONS
Grzegorz Maroń
The category of „welfare” in Polish case law ………………………………………………………………… 5

ADMINISTRATIVE SUBSTANTIVE LAW
Grzegorz Zieliński
Refugee Status in the Case Law of Polish Administrative Courts ……………………………………. 21
Anastazja Drapata
Removal of tree before execution of construction permit ………………………………………………. 35

INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC LAW
Karolina Karpus
EU Member State’s procedural autonomy in the light of the directive 2024/2881 –
air quality plan and access to justice in environmental matters ………………………………………. 46
Adam Kurek
Russian laws against patostreams ………………………………………………………………………………. 60

PROCEDURAL LAW
Magdalena Kotulska-Kmiecik
Using ICT when conducting correspondence between the Polish Patent Office
and a party in a patent proceedings …………………………………………………………………………… 75
Paweł Stokłosa
The legal status of the local action group and the obligation to deliver documents
electronically ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 89

GLOSSES
Przemysław Szustakiewicz
Commentary on the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court
of 12 December 2025, Case No. III OSK 2287/24 (concerning the disclosure
of documents concerning the act of clemency of the President
of the Republic of Poland) ……………………………………………………………………………………… 100

Abstracts

Grzegorz Maroń

The category of „welfare” in Polish case law

This article presents the results of a study of the justifications of Polish court decisions, focusing on their references to the concept of „welfare”. Based on a qualitative analysis of the case law, the author identifies how courts understand welfare, who they perceive as the beneficiaries of welfare and to whom they attribute responsibility for achieving it, what they believe leads to welfare and what hinders its achievement, the relationship between judicial references to welfare and the legal positivization of the term, and the impact of findings or assumptions made in the case law regarding welfare on the resolution of the given cases. The judicial operationalization of the concept of welfare reveals its much broader legal relevance compared to the term’s meaning in the Polish legal literature, which is primarily associated with the welfare state doctrine.

Grzegorz Zieliński

Refugee Status in the Case Law of Polish Administrative Courts

The article examines refugee status in Polish administrative case law (2011 – 2025), focusing on key judgments: II OSK 557/10, V SA/Wa 1158/11, II OSK 1442/17, II OSK 354/21, II OSK 2320/22 and II OSK 2390/24. It traces a shift from a more rights-protective stance to a formalist, efficiency-oriented model aimed at preventing abuse. Courts consistently require individualized risk and objective substantiation of a “well-founded fear,” clearly separating Convention grounds from economic or humanitarian motives, and endorsing procedural filters for repeat applications. In line with EU standards, authorities are also obliged to actively cooperate with applicants. Overall, the jurisprudence is coherent, predictable and aligned with international refugee law.

Anastazja Drapata

Removal of tree before execution of construction permit

The analyzed research problem is to address the issue whether tree felling by an entrepreneur can be performed before the building permit is granted. Until 2015, there was and still is a wide-ranging dispute in the doctrine as to the moment when a permit for tree felling should be executed. In 2015, the legislator introduced a regulation conditioning the felling of a tree on obtaining a building permit. The discrepancies as to the moment of tree felling and the moment of obtaining a building permit have not yet been resolved. Literal, functional and systemic intepretation were applied to analyse current regulations. A statistical analysis of case law was concluded to assess the level of discrepancies and establish conclusions de lege ferenda.

Karolina Karpus

EU Member State’s procedural autonomy in the light of the directive 2024/2881 – air quality plan and access to justice in environmental matters

The study focuses on the impact of Directive 2024/2881 on the procedural autonomy of EU Member States concerning one of the legal instruments, such as an air quality plan (AQP). In light of Article 27 of this act, the freedom of EU Member States to shape access to justice in environmental matters undergoes further limitations compared to the current Article 23(1) of the CAFE Directive (and CJEU case law). That is because Directive 2024/2881 establishes expressis verbis minimum standard of legal standing of the members of the public in the context of ambient air quality protection. This revision of EU law further confirms that procedural autonomy is giving way to the principle of effective judicial protection of environmental rights guaranteed to individuals by EU law. Polish law does not currently meet these EU requirements, which implies the need to adapt it in a system-wide manner.

Adam Kurek

Russian laws against patostreams

The subject of the text is an analysis of Russian federal laws aimed at counteracting local equivalents of Polish patostreams (pathological livestreams). The paper discusses regulations introduced by three legal acts signed by the President of the Russian Federation on August 8, 2024. The newly enacted provisions amend other legal acts by isolating issues related to online „live” broadcasts. The federal laws addressing Russian patostreams encompass both administrative and criminal law.

Magdalena Kotulska-Kmiecik

Using ICT when conducting correspondence between the Polish Patent Office and a party in a patent proceedings

The aim of the article is to present the issue of using ICT when conducting correspondence between the Polish Patent Office and a party in a patent proceedings. It presents the methods and principles of using information and telecommunications technologies when delivering correspondence by the party to the Patent Office and by the Patent Office to the applicant. The author analyzes the existing hierarchy of methods of serving documents to a party, the consequences of violating this hierarchy by the Patent Office and the issue of determining the date of delivery of an electronic document, which is often associated with specific legal consequences in the regulations.

Paweł Stokłosa

The legal status of the local action group and the obligation to deliver documents electronically

Local action groups (LAGs) participating in the implementation of funding from the European Union budget are associations with legal personality. Due to the fact that the legislator has included local action groups in the system of implementing tasks assigned to a Member State, and therefore public tasks, they may be subject to various obligations imposed on entities carrying out such tasks.

This article attempts to answer the question: are local action groups required to have an electronic delivery address, entered into a database of electronic addresses and linked to a public registered electronic delivery service, due to their legal status, tasks, or functions?

Przemysław Szustakiewicz

Commentary on the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 12 December 2025, Case No. III OSK 2287/24 (concerning the disclosure of documents concerning the act of clemency of the President of the Republic of Poland)

This commentary provides a critical analysis of the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment of December 12, 2025, case III OSK 2287/24, which held that the President of the Republic of Poland’s decisions granting pardons are not public information and are not subject to disclosure. The author demonstrates that this position violates citizens’ constitutional right to information and contributes to limiting public scrutiny of the Head of State’s actions. The right to public information covers all activities of public authorities, and the President of the Republic of Poland – even if he is not a public administration body – should disclose data on his official acts, which is essential for transparency and democratic (social) oversight of public authorities.