Public Law Review 11/2025
Table of contents
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Rafał Skowronek
Czy oględziny medyczno-sądowe przed kremacją powinny być obligatoryjne
w Polsce? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
Piotr Waląg, Renata Śliwa
Results of the evaluation of laws for 2024 concerning the issue of reducing business
risk in relation to changes in real production volumes in Polish economic sectors …………….. 9
THEORY OF THE LAW
Łukasz J. Pikuła
The methodological foundations of the Socratic concept of unwritten laws (agraphos
nomos) in connection with human moral intuition ………………………………………………………. 23
ADMINISTRATIVE SUBSTANTIVE LAW
Agata Barczewska-Dziobek
Social Exclusion From The Perspective of Social Services for The Elderly in Poland ………….. 33
Grzegorz Skowronek
Several remarks on state control over the gambling market in a comparative legal
perspective …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
Filip Pietrzyk
The disposal of public real estate for the purpose of enhancing the development
conditions of an adjacent aroperty (Article 37(2)(6) of the act of 21 August 1997
on real estate management). An assessment of the continuing relevance
of the regulation …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 57
FINANCIAL LAW
Michał Zaremba
The system of financial support for the press in Poland – the current state of affairs
and proposals for the future………………………………………………………………………………………. 66
BUSINESS ACTIVITY LAW
Grzegorz Gozdór
Legal-administrative conditions for conducting business activities in the field
of protection of persons and property in Poland ………………………………………………………….. 79
ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM
Paweł Romaniuk
Administrative and legal measures to guarantee the implementation of the principle
of openness of public administration (selected issues) …………………………………………………… 91
GLOSSES
Bogdan Dolnicki
Authorization to issue a local law. Approving commentary on the judgment
of Supreme Administrative Court of 31.01.2025 r., III OSK 3259/23 …………………………..101
Roman Marchaj
Competences of the metropolitan union assembly in the Silesian
Province in determining the variable part of the annual contribution.
Approving commentary on the judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative
Court in Gliwice of 4.07.2023 r., III SA/Gl 278/23 …………………………………………………….108
Renata Śliwa, Piotr Waląg
Results of the evaluation of laws for 2024 concerning the issue of reducing business risk in relation to changes in real production volumes in Polish economic sectors
Abstract
The aim of this article is to present the results of a lexometric analysis of laws passed in 2024 concerning the reduction of entrepreneurial risk and to compare these results with changes in the volume of global production in Polish economic sectors. The study, based on data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and Eurostat, used the real volume of production in constant prices from 1995 and the previous year. The results indicate that the increase in the number of laws with a weak impact on risk reduction (≥ 1) was correlated with an increase in production in the market and non-market service sectors, while the downward trend in regulations with a strong impact (≥ 2) limited growth in industry and construction. It was also found that risk-increasing regulations (≤ –1) had a negative impact on the industrial and financial sectors. The article confirms the existence of a relationship between legislative trends and changes in real output, which justifies the need for further empirical research on the economic effects of law.
The methodological foundations of the Socratic concept of unwritten laws (agraphos nomos) in connection with human moral intuition
Abstract
The aim of this publication is a philosophical reflection on the phenomenon of intellectual ethics and unwritten laws. Socratic thought is fundamentally linked to the domain of practical reason, to the wisdom of how one should act and what one should do always and everywhere. Aid in acquiring this reliable knowledge comes from moral intuition, which, according to the philosopher, every human being possesses. The importance of intuition, in turn, is closely linked to the concept of unwritten laws, which lead to the most difficult issue in legal philosophy: the concept of the nature of things, which is the ontological conditioning of the entire phenomenon of law.
Wykluczenie społeczne z perspektywy pomocy społecznej dla osób starszych w Polsce
Streszczenie
Koniec XX wieku charakteryzuje się gwałtownym wzrostem liczby osób starszych. Zjawisko to, zwane starzeniem się społeczeństw, stało się obecnie jednym z wyzwań stojących przed państwem i jego administracją, którym powinny sprostać odpowiednio ukształtowane polityki publiczne i działania zmierzające do ich realizacji w sferze zarówno stanowienia prawa, jak i praktyki działania. Osoby starsze są stale rosnącą grupą społeczną – grupą o szczególnych potrzebach, których zaspokojenie z jednej strony powinno być adekwatne do realizacji ról społecznych, które mogą i chcą pełnić, a z drugiej strony odpowiadać przede wszystkim założeniom polityki prawa inkluzywnego i funkcjonowania władz w nowoczesnych państwach. Głównym celem opracowania jest analiza obowiązujących przepisów prawa administracyjnego, które dotyczą świadczenia usług socjalnych osobom starszym pod kątem organizacji systemu sprzyjającego zaspokajaniu potrzeb osób starszych. W celu realizacji tej tezy pokazano ewolucję poświęconych osobom starszym dokumentów programowych, których realizacja wiąże się z rzeczywistą realizacją polityki senioralnej państwa. W celu dostarczenia dowodów oceniono również służby socjalne pod kątem faktycznej realizacji przez nie założeń spójności i inkluzywności systemu. W badaniu wykorzystano metody dogmatyczne, opisowe i empiryczne. Wykorzystano aktualną literaturę z zakresu nauk prawnych i inną niezbędną z punktu widzenia konkretnych problemów.
Several remarks on state control over the gambling market in a comparative legal perspective
Abstract
Gambling is a form of entertainment that has been interwoven with human history for centuries. At the same time, it represents an extremely profitable economic activity, vulnerable to infiltration by individuals engaged in criminal operations, while also serving as a source of revenue for the state budget. Due to inherent human traits and the emotions associated with this form of entertainment, gambling can lead to addiction. The broad and complex nature of gambling activities necessitates their strict regulation and supervision by competent and duly authorized public authorities.
Accordingly, the hypothesis formulated within the framework of this research is as follows: state control over the area of gambling is justified, as it increases the effectiveness of combating irregularities, supports the generation of public revenues, organizes the legal gambling sector, and strengthens the protection of public health. To verify this hypothesis, it was necessary to address two research questions. First, is it justified for a state to establish a single, distinct, and specialized authority empowered to regulate gambling activities? Second, can a regulatory model in which gambling-related tasks are performed by an authority that also carries out other, unrelated public functions be considered appropriate for overseeing gambling operations?
Based on the analysis of European Union regulations, selected provisions of Polish law, and regulatory approaches adopted in certain EU Member States as well as in Ukraine, it was possible to answer the research questions and confirm the proposed hypothesis.
The disposal of public real estate for the purpose of enhancing the development conditions of an adjacent aroperty (Article 37(2)(6) of the act of 21 august 1997 on real estate management). An assessment of the continuing relevance of the regulation
Abstract
The article provides a concise outline of the system governing the disposal of public real estate, that is, property owned by or held in perpetual usufruct by local government units and the State Treasury in Poland, as shaped by the principal legal act in this field — the Act of 21 August 1997 on Real Estate Management. Two fundamental modes of disposal are presented: competitive (by tender) and non-competitive (by direct sale). The main part of the study focuses on an analysis of one of the non-competitive modes of disposal, commonly referred to as the sale of real estate, or part thereof, for the purpose of enhancing the development conditions of an adjacent property. Two key interpretative issues arising in the practical application of the relevant legal framework are identified and an attempt is made to resolve them. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of adapting the existing regulations to the evolving legal and factual context, given their obsolescence after nearly three decades of operation.
The system of financial support for the press in Poland – the current state of affairs and proposals for the future
Abstract
This article outlines the arguments for providing state funding to the press. It also presents the forms of such funding used in selected European countries and Poland. The national system has been criticized for being socially ineffective and politicized. Two alternative proposals are presented and analyzed: a project developed by the Association of Local Newspapers and an original proposal modeled on the financing system of public benefit organizations. The analysis assessed them in terms of four conditions that an optimal support system should meet: the feasibility of support, objective criteria for selecting beneficiaries, transparency of the system’s operation, and a fair procedure for granting support. The original proposal, based on voluntary tax deductions, appears to best meet these criteria.
Legal-administrative conditions for conducting business activities in the field of protection of persons and property in Poland
Abstract
The article discusses the issue of providing protection services for persons and property in the administrative and legal aspect. The conditions for running a business in the field of personal and property protection services in the current legal status were discussed. The basic obligations of an entrepreneur providing protection services for persons and property, as well as the rules for controlling a significant part of the private security sector, which consists of licensed agencies for the protection of persons and property, were discussed. Administrative and legal sanctions were also analyzed in the event of violations of the principles of conducting business activities in the field of protection of persons and property. An attempt was made to assess the current legislative activities in the field of protection services for persons and property, in the context of the requirements imposed on entrepreneurs and the control of the market for the protection of persons and property by the state.
Paweł Romaniuk
Administrative and legal measures to guarantee the implementation of the principle of openness of public administration (selected issues)
Abstract
The article presents the functioning of a modern democratic state, which should not be deprived of the principle of openness. Openness, as a common good, is unquestionably recognized as a constitutional principle and stems from the provisions of Article 61 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Furthermore, the openness of public administration relies largely on the implementation of social oversight, the primary role of which is to ensure the availability of information on the broadly understood activities of public authorities and persons discharging public functions. Public authorities must abide by the law, respecting all established civil rights and freedoms, and this principle of openness is a key instrument for monitoring decisions made by public administration.
Bogdan Dolnicki
Authorization to issue a local law. Approving commentary on the judgment of Supreme Administrative Court of 31.01.2025 r., III OSK 3259/23
Abstract
For a resolution to be classified as an act of local law, the decisive factor is that the regulation will apply within the territory of the local government unit, directly shaping the rights and obligations of a certain category of potential addressees. However, the existence of statutory authorization to issue an act does not necessarily mean that a statutory provision must explicitly state that the municipal council’s resolution constitutes an act of local law. Task-based norms cannot be a source of competence for public administration bodies. Unlike competence-based norms, task-based norms are not authorizing, as the definition of tasks does not automatically imply the ability to undertake specific actions.
Competences of the metropolitan union assembly in the Silesian Province in determining the variable part of the annual contribution. Approving commentary on the judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gliwice of 4.07.2023 r., III SA/Gl 278/23
Abstract
The Act of 9 March 2017 on the Metropolitan Association in the Silesian Voivodeship suffers from numerous deficiencies. One of the most significant shortcomings is the absence of adequate legal provisions specifying not only the principles but also the procedure for payment by member municipalities of the variable part of the annual contribution. In this context, judicial decisions interpreting the provisions of the said Act acquire particular importance. Undoubtedly, one of the most significant rulings performing the above-mentioned interpretative function is the judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gliwice of 4 July 2023 in case no. III SA/Gl 278/23. In the reasoning of this judgment, the court, filling a legislative gap, indicated that, by way of analogy, it should be assumed that the assembly – as the legislative body of the metropolitan association – ought, post factum, to determine the final amount of the variable part of the annual contribution to be paid by the member municipalities. In doing so, the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gliwice altered the existing mode of operation of the Upper Silesian–Zagłębie Metropolis. Previously, the amount of the annual contribution had been determined by the management board of the metropolitan association by way of resolution. At the same time – which is of particular significance – the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gliwice upheld the position of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis in dividing the process of determining the variable part of the annual contribution into two stages.