Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny, 2009, nr 2
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Item POLSKA TRANSFORMACJA W PERSPEKTYWIE POSTKOLONIALNEJ(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Golka, MarianThe paper consists of four parts. The first one outlines the main, general theses of the author’s deliberations, the second presents the basic assumptions of the post-colonial theory, or perspective, the third contains a brief characteristics o f the mechanism o f changes after 1989, and the fourth offers evaluation of selected effects o f transformation from the perspective of the adopted theory. The climate for political transformations in Poland was unfavourable and it was largely carried “blindfold”. Consequently, its consequences were both positive and negative. The positive effects have many supporters o f the transformation, while the negative ones are much less frequently quoted. From the post-colonial perspective, the main negative effects include: the debt loop, sub-standard political culture (of citizens and politicians), quasi-tribal attitudes, good climate for corruption, impaired feeling of safety and various pathologies observed in different areas o f public life.Item POLSKA - W POŁOWIE DROGI MIĘDZY PIERWSZYM A DRUGIM SKOKIEM MODERNIZACYJNYM(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Drozdowski, RafałThe starting point for the discussion presented in the paper is an assumption that the first stage of the transformations of the political system in Poland (as a transition from “real socialism” to “real capitalism” ) has practically come to an end. Poland is nevertheless facing another phase, in which not mere stabilisation o f the newly implemented system, but securing Poland a place among the most developed countries will be at stake. The author analyses barriers that are currently limiting the conditions for a successful “second modernisation leap” . The main factors are: 1) growing privatism of individuals, crisis of the “common good” idea, and the generally low level of social capital; 2) spontaneous, bottom-up resistance to the market efficiency logic; 3) remarkable situationism and short-time perspective of many adjustment strategies; 4) substandard level of general education and poor education system, and 5) growing asymmetry between the aspirations of the consumer society, also with regards the social status, and inadequate means to satisfy them. The paper ends with a question which segment of the society could undergo further modernisation. In the author’s opinion it will neither be the old middle-class, that was left behind the main stream of the transformation, nor the new middle-class, still not very numerous and encountering various structural barriers to its development. It seems, therefore, that the burden o f further modernisation will be put on the shoulders o f the highly diversified and specifically Polish proto-middle class that combines selected features of the old and new middle class and the “post-proletariat”. Consequently, further modernisation processes in Poland will be o f an “enclave” character, selective and structurally inconsistent.Item OBYWATEL CZASU TRANSFORMACJI - NIESPEŁNIONE NADZIEJE(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Raciborski, JacekThe paper presents the formation process of democratic citizenship in Poland after 1989. Although the author looks at citizenship as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, the focus is put on the electoral behaviour of citizens, as it is believed to be the fundamental factor to the consolidation of democracy. Poland is an example of a state with a considerable tension, or incompatibility, between the legislative assumptions expected from citizens living in a democratic system and their actual civic practices. The election turn-out is generally low, Poles seem to have no specific political preferences and their civil rights awareness is generally poor. Only one in three adult citizens follows the basic standards of democratic citizenship while not more than 20% may be called “high-quality” citizens. Problems with citizenship do not result from a poor institutional design of democracy in Poland, or any particular difficulty encountered in its implementation. What seems to have been the case is that at the initial stage of transformation the existing electoral rules hampered the establishment of a stable party-based system. The fundamental modifications of these rules in 1993 confirmed that electoral volatility was the core factor of political instability. However, the author sees the establishment of democratic citizenship as a long-term process and is o f an opinion that despite the deficiencies currently being observed in civic practices o f the young democracy, there is no immediate or direct threat to Poland’s democracy.Item STRATYFIKACJA A SYSTEM SPOŁECZNY W POLSCE(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Domański, HenrykThe paper analyses the functioning of the social system in Poland from the stratification mechanism perspective. Basing on the results of research carried out in the last decades, the author attempts to identify the conditions in which the recent changes have taken place in the stratification mechanism and the consequences they had on institutions and social attitudes. An analysis of the above leads to a conclusion that those mechanisms function according to a certain logic that is well known both in theory and in practice. Contrary to the theses suggesting a decline of social stratification, there is nothing to suggest that intergenerational transmissions of social status or educational inequalities have weakened. Likewise, marital homogamy and friendship patterns remain substrantial. In the second part of the paper the author attempts to answer the question whether within this stable system of social distances, a “ruling” class and a “middle” class are emerging, as they seem to be (both from the theoretical and empirical point of view) the most predestined classes to play a significant role in the transformation process.Item POKŁOSIE OKRĄGŁEGO STOŁU PRZESZŁOŚĆ DLA PRZYSZŁOŚCI(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Woźniak, ZbigniewThe political contract concluded a t the “Round Table” twenty years ago continues to produce much controversy, and when confronted with the subsequent political changes it reveals its sociotechnical and tactical character. The negotiating team representing the Solidarity and opposition consisted largely of city intellectuals with long-time oppositionist history, capable of presenting the existing authorities a different vision of Poland and its society. They also managed to win legalisation of independent trade unions and other social organisations, turn their 35% parliamentary representation into a stronghold from which they continued to attract more followers, both from the Democratic Alliance and Peasant Party, formerly allied to the ruling Workers’ Party, and eventually create grounds for electing the first opposition prime minister. With this accomplished, the economic reforms have accelerated and the political scene has become more diversified. However, there are still reforms th a t need completion before the citizens can be fully integrated to participate actively in the transformation of their own country, and become more interested in public matters. Therefore, in the concluding part of the paper, effects and consequences of the unfinished political transformation are indicated. This is followed by the author’s own concept of a balanced society with integrated citizens.Item EWOLUCJA PRZEDSIĘBIORSTW W POLSCE W OKRESIE TRANSFORMACJI GOSPODARKI PO 1989 ROKU(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Urbanowska-Sojkin, Elżbieta; Banaszyk, PiotrThe paper focuses on the changes in the activity of companies in Poland between 1989-2009. Those changes concern the goals o f business activity, methods of its realisation, both in respect of its fundamental function and supporting functions, and sources of the competitive advantage, market behaviours, particularly in relation to customers, competitors, vendors and other organisations from the business environment. Consequences o f globalisation, especially those seen in the fragmentation of economic activities and tools of its implementation (outsourcing and offshoring), deserve a special attention. Both development strategies have been used by Polish entrepreneurs. The business goals have undergone economic rationalisation, manifested as a necessity to solve problems such as the operating profitability of a given business or activity, the scope or extent of a given economic activity justifying its continuation, or cost-effectiveness of the traditional cooperative agreements. Today, transnational, or global, companies play a key role on the business market. Likewise, the role and impact o f the ideas and technologies of the information society are of fundamental importance. Furthermore, transformations in the organisation o f businesses are also important. Their structures are becoming better adapted to the current requirements of competitive markets and they substantially reduce fixed costs. For the purposes o f the study and to illustrate the changes taking place in the basic quantitative and qualitative features o f companies operating throughout Poland, the authors used statistical information published by Poland’s Main Statistical Office (GUS).Item WYBRANE ASPEKTY STRATEGII POLSKICH PRZEDSIĘBIORSTW W OKRESIE TRANSFORMACJI(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Gorynia, MarianThe paper is a synthesis o f theoretical and empirical results of a research into the behaviour of Polish companies in transition. The study was carried out between 1990-2008 as a four-stage project. Its theoretical goal, i.e. reconstruction of a model approach to an enterprise in transition, as well as the empirical goal, i.e. presentation o f the most important results of an empirical study have been accomplished and are presented in the paper.Item DWUDZIESTOLECIE POLITYKI PIENIĘŻNEJ NBP WPŁYW TRANSFORMACJI I INTEGRACJI GOSPODARCZEJ(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Przybylska-Kapuścińska, WiesławaThe paper demonstrates the scale o f transformations taking place in the central bank’s monetary policy between 1989 and 2009. The National Bank o f Poland needed to be transformed in a modern central bank, capable o f functioning in a market economy. In order to facilitate that, various legal and institutional changes needed to be made and the existing laws required necessary amendments. They are analysed and presented in the paper. Next, the eclectic monetary policy that the Bank pursued in the years 1990-1997 is described, and its strong and weak points identified. After that the new strategy, continued till date, focused on inflation targeting is discussed and its effects and reasons for implementation, as well reasons why inflation is hard to control in Poland, explained. The paper ends with a description of the evolution o f the tools and instruments used by the National Bank o f Poland in the last twenty years.Item Spis treści(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009)Item PIĘĆ LAT POLSKI W UNII EUROPEJSKIEJ JAKO PRZEDMIOT DEBATY PUBLICZNEJ(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Ziółkowski, MarekThe paper focuses on the main threads of the public debate on Poland’s place in the European Union that have been argued since 1 May 2004, the date of Poland’s EU accession. It presents different interests (i.e. goals considered beneficial) and values (i.e. goals considered just and fair) that are being pointed out by different social groups. The ongoing dispute may be viewed as a classical opposition that exists between the modernisation theory and the dependence theory, where the main focus, or object, is to find the “golden means” or “happy medium” between the wide opening and full participation in the global system, or closing up in an attempt to preserve economic independence and protect national values and traditions. Those issues have become fundamental political and ideological arguments dividing Poland internally. The are voiced by EU-enthusiasts, EU-realists,EU-sceptics, and (in the smallest number) EU-opponents. Each group claims to act in Poland’s national interest (albeit understood differently by different groups) but whatever the reason, this debate is taking place in a country whose citizens, Poles, are the greatest EU-enthusiasts on the continent, experiencing the concrete material economic benefits and civilisation progress flowing from it, and seeing the Community regulations as a guarantor of a “return to normality”. The debate on the European Union and Poland as its member is gradually becoming more specific. What is more, it begins to demonstrate certain elements of irony, auto-irony and humour, being the best proof that Poles are becoming more conscious and self-assured members of the EU community.Item TRANSFORMACJA A PERSPEKTYWY ROZWOJU GOSPODARCZEGO POLSKI(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Sadowski, ZdzisławAlthough the systemic transformation in Poland was successful with regard to the basic elements of economic and political change, it also caused some overtly negative phenomena both in the structure of the economy and in its social aspects. In particular, it created great social inequalities, widespread poverty as mass and presistent unemployment. Responsibility is largely attributable to the fact that an important part in shaping economic policies of transition was played by the neoliberal doctrine known to disregard the social costs of economic change. It is clear that in future the successfully re-established market system must be maintained. It will, however, be necessary for the state to play an active role of a co-regulator o f the economy, responsible for supporting the market in its positive functions and applying corrective measures where needed, particularly in respect o f income distribution. The present global economic crisis makes it difficult to discuss Poland’s development prospects, but two issues are considered top priorities: combating poverty and developing an information society with knowledge-based economy. In building the needed institutional set-up it should be useful to apply a modernised concept of the social market economy.Item SYTUACJA PRAWNA NASCITURUSA W ART. 9 PROJEKTU KODEKSU CYWILNEGO(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Sokołowski, TomaszThe paper discusses the main assumptions of article 9 of the new draft of the civil code which provides for the application of the paremia Nasciturus pro iam nato in the area of modern civil law. The deliberations include several issues pertaining to the legal position of an unborn child and, in particular, the absence of legal capacity or special capacity of the father that would allow him to declare paternity of the unborn child. The author identifies different regulations existing in administrative law, and especially in the law of health care. The paper concludes with a statement that new article 9 ascertains a better system of protection of the interests of an unborn child, even if it does not grant it any legal capacity.Item SPRAWSTWO BEZ WYKONANIA CZYNU ZABRONIONEGO(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Zoll, AndrzejThe conception of the participation form o f a crime proposed by J. Makarewicz does not answer many fundamental questions. The general stance of the Polish contemporary doctrine of criminal law is that neither incitement nor aiding and abetting is a participation form of a crime, but only a separate and independent type o f a prohibited act, the description o f which (apart from the characteristics typical of incitement or aiding and abetting) also includes the description o f the act to which the inciter has induced, or in which the aider and abettor offered assistance. The conception proposed by J. Makarewicz may be fully applied to the participation forms leading to either the actual commitment o f a crime (committed personally or in conjunction with another) and in a non-executed form (leading, supervising or ordering a crime). What still remains to be solved is a question what charges should be formulated in respect of a person who has supervised a prohibited act that was ordered, i f the “to-be” perpetrator, or performer of the act only realises the characteristics of the object, without realising (or showing) any characteristics of the subject part. In my opinion, one should never claim that the person supervising a crime has actually managed or supervised the realisation or performance of a prohibited act whose attributes always characterise the subject as well. Under the currently applicable laws, in such cases we could determine the instance of co-perpetration. This solution, however, is not free from imperfections. It is therefore suggested that the scope of article 18 para. 1 of the penal code should be extended on indirect perpetration as well.Item PRZEPISY OGÓLNE PRAWA ADMINISTRACYJNEGO I DEFINIOWANIE POJĘĆ(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Zimmermann, JanThe twenty years o f transformations in Poland are a good opportunity for proposing some ways in which the condition of Polish administrative law could be improved. One of the recommended actions is formulation o f general provisions of that branch of law. There two basic ways in which such an act could be drafted and substantially passed. A minimalist action would be to add to the existing system the missing elements, thus consolidating the system without any modification or intervention. Alternatively, the “general part” of administrative law could be created. A way to do that would be first, to identify, and next, to extract from it those elements or provisions that are of general character, and subsequently encapsulate them in one separate normative act. The definition o f the basic legal concepts of administrative law is of fundamental importance and several groups of such concepts may be identified. The first one includes concepts for which a statutory definition seems indispensable. In the first place this applies to concepts from the administrative law system that establish the mutual relationships between the administering subjects. The second one includes those concepts for which a statutory definition is at least disputable. To those belong concepts like an organ of public administration, or, in particular, concepts of individual forms o f the public administration activity. The necessity of defining an administrative decision produces some controversies as well. The third and last group includes those concepts, the defining of which seems to be out of the question. This includes, first of all, the concept of administrative recognition as defined in the draft bill on general provisions of administrative law which is the main subject of analysis in this paper. Defining general clauses, especially those of public interest, is also unacceptable.Item POLSKA TRANSFORMACJA GOSPODARCZA NA TLE WYBRANYCH KRAJÓW EUROPY ŚRODKOWEJ(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Kowalski, TadeuszThe aim of this paper is to provide an empirical analysis of Poland’s economic transformation process. Poland’s case (its initial conditions, growth and development) is compared with the transformations that have taken place in the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Lithuania and Ukraine. The transformation process ran in two phases: a phase of stabilisation and implementation of the fundamental constitutional changes, and a phase of development. The paper offers a general overview of those phases, with a special focus on the macroeconomic context, institutional framework and development factors. It also highlights the issue of the conditions and factors of national economy competitiveness. The applied approaches complement one another, creating a context for international comparison of the operation of factors that stimulate and inhibit the transition process. While highly evaluating Poland’s economic transformation, the analysis identifies many opportunities that had not been taken. The most important ones include: lack of effective response (regarding quantitative and qualitative economic policy) to the lowest in Europe employment rate; failure to bring the privatisation process to a conclusion; reform fatigue and slowdown, also with respect to fiscal reforms which otherwise could facilitate meeting by the Polish economy o f euro area membership requirements and allow Poland to improve its competitive position. In the future, Poland’s ability to overcome the above-mentioned weaknesses will be of crucial importance. Moreover, it is essential for Poland to increase the rates of domestic savings, supply and investment. Fast changes in the GDP structure and starting effectiveness reserves that underlie the improvement of broadly understood institutional environment are also necessary.Item TRANSFORMACJA USTROJOWA W ŚWIETLE USTALEŃ I ZAŁOŻEŃ EKONOMII INSTYTUCJONALNEJ(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Ratajczak, MarekThe aim of the paper is a discussion on the economic aspect of a political transition analysed with the use of tools available in institutional economics. The last two decades have witnessed a revival of institutional economics in many different forms. That interest was caused, inter alia, by the political changes which were initiated in Poland over 20 years ago and have been subsequently followed by other East European states. The first part of the paper contains brief characteristics of contemporary institutionalism as understood from the point of view of its two major components: traditional institutionalism and new institutional economics. The second part, which refers to the findings and assumptions of institutional economics in its both forms, is an analysis of those phenomena which the author believes to have played a decisive role in the process and led to the transformation of the system, and those which prove that the process has not been quite completed yet. The final part is a brief account of the participation of the states in transition in the EU integration process.Item DYNAMIKA TRANSFORMACYJNEJ RECESJI I EKSPANSJI (Z PERSPEKTYWY ZMIAN STRUKTURY WŁASNOŚCIOWEJ FIRM)(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Winiecki, JanThe paper is an attempt to explain the dynamics of output change in transition and its determinants. The author stresses, first o f all, the differences between the normal business cycle and the transitional recession and expansion. The most important are the much larger scale of output fall in post-communist transition and the different sets of firms (dominant set of new private firms in transition). In his opinion the factor dynamising the behaviour of economic agents is the ownership form. In transitional recession state firms dominate. For a number of reasons at the beginning of the transition the demand for their (usually obsolete and low quality) products goes down. Also, the aggregate output falls as new private firms are too small to countervail the fall in the state sector. The few privatised firms have problems of their own and their output does not increase much, either. With the passage of time the proportions change. Newly established and already expanding private firms, as well as more numerous privatised firms, increase their output so much that their increases outweigh the losses of state firms. The expansion begins. The author points out that all transition economies have gone through such correctional recession, while not all experienced expansion. He ascribes the difference to the development of the new private sector, which in the first couple of years of transition is clearly more efficient than the privatised sector (to say nothing about the inefficient state sector). The rapid expansion of the new private sector, or its quantitative and qualitative weakness, is dependent in this author’s opinion on the successful implementation of the transition programme and on civilisational differences (how the country performed before communism).Item USTROJOWE ASPEKTY REFORMY SAMORZĄDOWEJ W LATACH 1990-1998 W ŚWIETLE WSPÓŁCZESNYCH WYZWAŃ WOBEC ADMINISTRACJI PUBLICZNEJ(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Lipowicz, IrenaThe political reform o f local government structures was a complex process that involved political, legal and organisational aspects. Despite some obvious successes, there were also defeats, such as e.g. failure to maintain consistence and clarity in the implementation o f reforms, in consequence of which some have been simply abandoned for many years. It is time now to return to them, re-interpret and take up again. The paper identifies reasons for making certain political decisions, the deciding factors, or surroundings, and, in particular, the reasons why local government reforms had to be conducted in two phases rather than one, leading to the establishment o f self-governing voivodeships. An overall assessment o f the local government reform 1990-1998 is being made from today’s perspective and the challenges o f today’s administration. Finally, current challenges (including those caused by the recent economic crisis) faced by the organs of public administration and self-governing local authorities are analysed.Item KODYFIKACJA PRAWA CYWILNEGO(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Radwański, ZbigniewThe paper contains a short account of the unification of Polish civil law, a task that was accomplished in 1964 with the adoption of the civil code and the family and guardianship code. Those codifications, rooted in the communist system, were substantially modified in 1989. However, despite over 50 amendments, certain elements of the communist doctrine have remained in both codes till today. Therefore further modifications are necessary and will have to be incorporated in a new code of civil law, together with the new system of values set out in the Constitution of 1997 as well as the Community laws that Poland is also required to account for in its legal system. Work on the drafting of a new legislative bill has already commenced at the Civil Law Codification Committee at the Ministry of Justice.Item PROCES PRAWODAWCZY DWÓCH DEKAD - SUKCESY I NIEPOWODZENIA(Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM, 2009) Wronkowska, SławomiraThe paper offers a synchronic characteristics of the amendments to Polish legislation made over the last twenty years (1989-2009). It accounts for the changes that have taken place in legislative institutions, the law-making rules and procedures, the regulations determining the content of the law, and the political and social environment of the legislation process. Two theses have been formulated: a) there has been a fundamental change in the legislation model, moving from paternalistic to legalistic, manifested, inter alia, by individual’s rights determining the borders which the legislative power must not go beyond, transparency of the law-making rules, and the existence of institutions overseeing the constitutionality o f laws b) the new procedures are still unsatisfactory and fail to fully guarantee elimination o f the dangers of passing defective laws while the legalisation of new provisions continues to receive inadequate social support. The paper ends with a conclusion that political transformations in Poland coincided with the difficult process o f adjusting Polish law to the requirements of the new Constitution and harmonising its provisions with Community law. Although a huge legislative work has been accomplished, modern law making structures guaranteeing stability and functionality of a legal system are still missing.