Table of contents

LEXOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Dobrochna Minich
State power in the era of the crisis of liberal democracy and the fall of the idea of the constitution. reflections based on the political situation in the Republic of Poland in 2024 …………………………… 7

INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Marcin Rulka, Bartłomiej Wróblewski
Amendment to the Electoral Code of 11 January 2018 and voters’ trust in the electoral procedure – practical experience ……… 19

PROCEDURAL LAW

Michał Służalec
Legally protected secret in proceedings before the State Commission for Counteracting the Sexual Exploitation of Minors under 15 Years of Age ……………………. 33

FINANCIAL LAW

Joanna Jagoda
Payment for rainwater or meltwater drainage services in the light of administrative court rulings ….. 41

Ewelina Markowska
Own revenues as a determinant of the financial independence of municipalities in Poland ………………………………. 53

Dominika Nowak, Tomasz Kawa
Participatory budgeting as a participatory practice. A case study of the participatory budget of the city of Gorlice ………….. 69

ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM

Paulina Łazutka-Gawęda
Local government in the face of challenges related to security issues ……………………………….. 82

Tomasz Moll
Consultations with Residents as an Element of the Resolution-Making Procedure in the Light of the Provisions of the Act on Municipal Self-Government ………………………… 92

Małgorzata Pracka
Regulations of the municipal cemetery as a public utility facility – current legal problems ……………………….101

Abstracts

Dobrochna Minich

State power in the era of the crisis of liberal democracy and the fall of the idea of the constitution. reflections based on the political situation in the Republic of Poland in 2024

This article is a continuation of the reflections based on research conducted by the Research Group „Lexometry of the Legislative Process”. It analyzes the issue of strengthening the competences of public authorities, based on the example of Polish legislative solutions in 2024, following the 2023 parliamentary elections and the change of government. Considerable attention is devoted to analyzing the legislation relating to the Constitutional Tribunal, which aimed to restore its lost importance. The reflections draw on Carl Schmitt’s decisionist conception of law and state. Furthermore, signs of a crisis of democracy and the decline of the constitutional concept are pointed out.

Marcin Rulka, Bartłomiej Wróblewski

Amendment to the Electoral Code of 11 January 2018 and voters’ trust in the electoral procedure – practical experience

The changes introduced in the Polish electoral procedure after the 2014 local elections are aimed at rebuilding voters’ trust in the fairness of the electoral procedure. The subject of the article is an analysis of the changes introduced by the amendment to the Electoral Code of 11 January 2018, concerning: transmission of the activities of district electoral commissions, voting cards, conditions for recognizing a vote as valid and district electoral commissions. The analysis presented in the study shows that not all solutions that in theory have a positive impact on voters’ trust in the electoral procedure actually achieve the intended goal. The authors also formulate de lege ferenda remarks that may lead to increased voter confidence in the electoral procedure.

Michał Służalec

Legally protected secret in proceedings before the State Commission for Counteracting the Sexual Exploitation of Minors under 15 Years of Age

The State Commission for Counteracting the Sexual Exploitation of Minors under 15 Years of Agerepresents a solution aimed at redressing wrongs inflicted upon children. With the authority to conduct its investigative proceedings, which can impact both the rehabilitation of the offender and provide material for use by authorized authorities in criminal proceedings, it is necessary to establish certain standards for their conduct. One of the measures introduced in the law is the obligation to maintain confidentiality of information. The fundamental premise of this work is to assess the existing solutions and present recommendations for necessary changes concerning legally protected confidentiality.

Joanna Jagoda

Payment for rainwater or meltwater drainage services in the light of administrative court rulings

Administrative court case law recognizes that the municipal council is authorized to introduce fees for stormwater and meltwater drainage services. This body may adopt a resolution constituting an act of local law pursuant to Article 4 of the Municipal Management Act. Failure to do so constitutes a waiver of service fees. In such a case, there is no legal basis for concluding an agreement with the municipality (municipal company) regarding the provision of paid stormwater and meltwater drainage services, nor for the service provider to demand payment for such services.

Ewelina Markowska

Own revenues as a determinant of the financial independence of municipalities In Poland

The commune, as the basic unit of local government, carries out public tasks on its own behalf and on its own responsibility. Due to their specificity, the needs of the local community require that they be financed on a continuous basis. The sources of income of municipalities should be effective and stable at the same time. The essence of decentralization from the point of view of local government is the financial aspect. The basic condition for the implementation of public tasks by municipalities is to equip these units with appropriate sources of budget revenue. The distribution of public revenues at the political level requires that the communes’ own tasks be financed in the form of own revenues transferred to them. The aim of the publication is to analyse the development of revenues of municipalities in Poland in the years 2019-2023 and to determine the importance of own revenues in the budgets of the surveyed local government units.

Dominika Nowak, Tomasz Kawa

Participatory budgeting as a participatory practice. A case study of the participatory budget of the city of Gorlice

There is a growing trend in democratic countries to activate citizens and involve them in decision-making processes, which is referred to as civic administration or participatory state. One of the most important instruments of civic participation in Poland is the civic (participatory) budget, which allows residents to co-determine the spending of a portion of public funds at the local level. The civic budget institutionalizes the dialogue between the community and local government, fostering the articulation of residents’ needs, strengthening social ties and building social capital. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept and genesis of civic participation, as well as to conduct an analysis of the functioning of the civic budget in the city of Gorlice in 2017–2024. Particular attention was paid to issues related to voter turnout in voting for submitted projects and the relationship between the amount of the civic budget and the total budget of the city. The main research question that will be attempted to answer is: what impact does the civic budget have on public participation?

Paulina Łazutka-Gawęda

Local government in the face of challenges related to security issues

The unstable geopolitical situation is remodelling the current view of the role and scope of activities of local government units. Today, the classic action of the local government units within the framework of the providing administration is insufficient. Local government is becoming one of the key actors in ensuring the safety of residents. This article aims to explain the numerous aspects of security that are within the scope of the local government units and to present the role of local government in providing security to its residents.

Tomasz Moll

Consultations with Residents as an Element of the Resolution-Making Procedure in the Light of the Provisions of the Act on Municipal Self-Government

Municipal consultations constitute a key component of participatory democracy, enabling citizens to exert influence over the adoption of local normative acts. Within the framework of civil society, municipal consultations function as an instrument that allows citizens to articulate their views and to affect matters of local significance, including as an integral element of the resolution‑making procedure. The article addresses the legal issues surrounding the participation of residents of the basic tier of local self‑government in the resolution‑making process through facultative, semi‑mandatory, and mandatory consultations.

Małgorzata Pracka

Regulations of the municipal cemetery as a public utility facility – current legal problems

The cemetery as a public utility facility requires the adoption of regulations containing the principles of its use. The lack of a statutory catalogue of these principles creates enormous interpretation problems and is the basis for declaring the invalidity of resolutions of municipal councils by administrative courts.There have also been decisions that question the possibility of collecting fees at cemeteries, which may affect both the state of public finances of municipalities and the interests of cemetery users, therefore the matter in question requires in-depth analysis and legislator intervention.