scholarly journals Korupcja naruszeniem konstytucyjnych wartości i praw obywateli

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-150
Author(s):  
Waldemar Walczak

The article presents multifaceted considerations and results of analyses concerning the necessity to perceive the phenomenon of corruption through the prism of a gross violation of constitutional values, the principles of the rule of law and social justice. The main focus is on discussing civic rights that are effectively eradicated by corruption, at the same time emphasizing a holistic and systemic approach to understanding and interpreting specific processes and decisions confirmed in practice. At the beginning, it is explained why a broad research perspective should be adopted to understand the essence of corruption. An important argument supporting the correctness of the adopted approach are statements contained in the Government Program for Counteracting Corruption 2018–2020. Next, the most important constitutional values and civil rights are indicated, which are not respected and remain only in the declarative sphere as a result of corrupt practices. In order to prove the illusory nature and facade of certain provisions of the Polish Constitution, important statements contained in the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal are quoted, and then these interpretations are analyzed in relation to real situations occurring in everyday reality. These problem issues are presented from the perspective of the constitutional principle of equality before the law, social justice and non discrimination. It is also noted in this regard that corruption activities are precisely the main factor leading to the division of citizens into two separate categories according to the way they are treated. Finally, it is mentioned that in the European Union ever greater emphasis is currently being placed on compliance with the rule of law. This problem is closely related to the need to understand the negative consequences of corruption as an element that undermines trust in the state, constitutional order and the rule of law.

Author(s):  
Michael C. Dorf ◽  
Michael S. Chu

Lawyers played a key role in challenging the Trump administration’s Travel Ban on entry into the United States of nationals from various majority-Muslim nations. Responding to calls from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which were amplified by social media, lawyers responded to the Travel Ban’s chaotic rollout by providing assistance to foreign travelers at airports. Their efforts led to initial court victories, which in turn led the government to soften the Ban somewhat in two superseding executive actions. The lawyers’ work also contributed to the broader resistance to the Trump administration by dramatizing its bigotry, callousness, cruelty, and lawlessness. The efficacy of the lawyers’ resistance to the Travel Ban shows that, contrary to strong claims about the limits of court action, litigation can promote social change. General lessons about lawyer activism in ordinary times are difficult to draw, however, because of the extraordinary threat Trump poses to civil rights and the rule of law.


the wishes of the Government expressed in the form of legislation, or the extent to which it can interfere with the pursuit of those wishes. Until now it has been a commonplace of political thought that although the United Kingdom might not have a written constitution its unwritten constitution was nonetheless based on fundamental principles. Amongst these principles were the sovereignty of Parliament and the Rule of Law. The centrality within the United Kingdom constitution of the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty has traditionally meant that Parliament can make such law as it determines, but the validity of such an interpretation has been questioned by some. The justifications for such challenges to absolute Parliamentary sovereignty are based on the United Kingdom's membership of both the European Union and the Council of Europe with the implications of higher authorities than Parliament, in the former's legislation and the latter's endorsement of inalienable individual rights. As for the Rule of Law, although it is a notoriously amorphous concept, it has provided the courts with scope for challenging the actions of the executive and, indeed, to a more limited degree, the legislature. The mechanism through which the courts have previously exercised their burgeoning constitutional and, by definition, political role is judicial review by means of which they have asserted the right to subject the actions and operations of the executive to the gaze and control of the law in such a way as to prevent the executive from abusing its power. However, such power has been greatly extended by the enactment of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998. The Act only came into effect in October 2000 so the question remains as to how the courts will use the powers given to them under that Act. The remaining articles in this chapter will consider the wider political context within which the judiciary operate as well as focusing on the Rule of Law and the HRA 1998. In an article 'Law and democracy', published in the Spring 1995 edition of Public Law, Sir John Laws, Justice of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, considered the appropriate role of judges within the constitution from the perspective of the judge (footnotes omitted).

2012 ◽  
pp. 54-65

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-815
Author(s):  
Pilar Nicolás

Spain occupies an area of 504.645 km, and it has a population of 46.5 million people, out of which 4,538,503 are immigrants. Life expectancy is 82.5 years (85.5 for females and 79.5 for males). Its economy grew 1.4 % in 1014. Its current Constitution was enacted in 1978. It has been part of the European Union since 1986.Spain is a social and democratic state subject to the rule of law. Liberty, justice, equality, and political pluralism are the highest values of the legal order of the rule of law. Spain is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. The legislative power rests upon two chambers: the Congress and Senate. The government exercises the executive powers and the regulatory powers. There have been six presidents since 1978 from all parties, socialist, centrist, and conservative. The judicial power rests upon the courts and tribunals established by law.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Standy Wico ◽  
Michael Michael ◽  
Patricia Louise Sunarto ◽  
Anastasia Anastasia

To date, there is no trial mechanism for Indonesian citizens to claim their rights through the constitutional complaint, even if the Constitutional Court has existed since 2003. In fact, civil rights guaranteed in the 1945 Constitution are often ignored by the government even though these rights are essential in promoting the rule of law. This paper aims to revisit the range of constitutional complaints and further consequences about the legal certainty by taking into account the rationale of civil rights protection following the establishment of the Constitutional Court for adjudicating civil complaints. This study uses juridical research with normative and comparative approaches. In this context, a constitutional complaint is different from the judicial review for which, the actions of government officials are deemed to be detrimental and violate the constitutional rights of citizens. Rather, it is an adjudication for protecting civil rights when it is found the constitutional rights are breached by the government so that each citizen has legal standing before the Constitutional Court. As for the effort to apply legal certainty to constitutional complaints, a legal basis is needed, namely the laws that regulate and their application. By doing so, it can be implemented after amending the 1945 Constitution that outlines the additional power-wielding to the Constitutional Court. KEYWORDS: Constitutional Complaint, Constitutional Court, Indonesian Constitution.


POPULATION ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-14
Author(s):  
Valery Patsiorkovsky

Since the beginning of socio-economic transformations (1991), the state system has changed, but the concept of the essence of social justice established in the years of socialism has been preserved. This circumstance is crucial for mutual understanding and consent in our society. All subsequent events, including voting on constitutional amendments (2020), serve as convincing evidence in favor of the statement made. These amendments are a specific invention that opens up the possibility for the government to relieve the constantly increasing tension for some time. The fact is that after the departure of tsarism from the historical scene (based on the idea of divine origin of its power), the Constitution represents Russia as a state governed by the rule of law and actually fulfills the function of a social contract. Therefore, according to the established tradition, a change of power always entails constitutional transformations. At the same time, everyone understands that there is a gap between the well-written constitutional norms and the reality of life in the country, which allows the government to administer the affairs at their discretion. Still, the possibilities of maneuvering are far from unlimited. Both the constitutional amendments and the actions of the authorities during the period of self-isolation show a reverse movement towards socialist distribution relations. This is an inevitable payment for the use of market mechanisms in the society, for which, even many years after the start of reforms, distribution relations serve as the main criterion of social justice. By initiating such amendments, the authorities show their concern and desire at least for an ostentatious restoration of social justice, thus increasing trust, harmony, and cohesion in the society.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudha N. Setty

Published: Sudha Setty, Surveillance, Secrecy, and the Search for Meaningful Accountability, 51 STAN. J. INT'L L. 69 (2015). One of the most intractable problems in the debate around maintaining the rule of law while combating the threat of terrorism is the question of secrecy and transparency. In peacetime, important tenets to the rule of law include transparency of the law, limits on government power, and consistency of the law as applied to individuals in the policy. Yet the post-9/11 decision-making by the Bush and Obama administrations is characterized with excessive secrecy that stymies most efforts to hold the government accountable for its abuses. Executive branch policy with regard to detention, interrogation, targeted killing and surveillance are kept secret, and that secrecy has been largely validated by a compliant judiciary that has dismissed almost all suits challenging human and civil rights abuses resulting from counterterrorism programs. Efforts by Congress to engage in meaningful oversight have met with mixed results; in the area of government surveillance, such efforts have been fruitless without the benefit of leaked information on warrantless surveillance by government insiders, since the executive branch has generally refused to make public vital aspects of its surveillance programs in ways that could give oversight efforts more muscle. At the same time, the executive branch has consistently defended the legality and efficacy of these surveillance programs. This paper considers the nature and effect of the warrantless surveillance infrastructure constructed in the United States since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and discusses surveillance-related powers and accountability measures in the United Kingdom and India as comparative examples. Through this analysis, this paper questions whether accountability over government abuses in this area exists in an effective form, or if governments have constructed a post-9/11 legal architecture with regard to surveillance that engenders excessive secrecy and renders accountability mechanisms largely meaningless.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-104
Author(s):  
Rustam Magun Pikahulan

Abstract: The Plato's conception of the rule of law states that good governance is based on good law. The organization also spreads to the world of Supreme Court justices, the election caused a decadence to the institutional status of the House of Representatives as a people's representative in the government whose implementation was not in line with the decision of the Constitutional Court. Based on the decision of the Constitutional Court No.27/PUU-XI/2013 explains that the House of Representatives no longer has the authority to conduct due diligence and suitability (elect) to prospective Supreme Judges proposed by the Judicial Commission. The House of Representatives can only approve or disapprove candidates for Supreme Court Justices that have been submitted by the Judicial Commission. In addition, the proportion of proposed Supreme Court Justices from the judicial commission to the House of Representatives (DPR) has changed, whereas previously the Judicial Commission had to propose 3 (three) of each vacancy for the Justices, now it is only one of each vacant for Supreme Court Judges. by the Supreme Court. The House of Representatives no longer has the authority to conduct due diligence and suitability (elect) to prospective Supreme Judges proposed by the Judicial Commission. The House of Representatives can only "approve" or "disagree" the Supreme Judge candidates nominated by the Judicial Commission.


Politeia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mbekezeli Comfort Mkhize ◽  
Kongko Louis Makau

This article argues that the 2015 xenophobic violence was allowed to spread due to persistent inaction by state officials. While the utterances of King Goodwill Zwelithini have in part fuelled the attacks, officials tend to perceive acts of xenophobia as ordinary crimes. This perception has resulted in ill-advised responses from the authorities, allowing this kind of hate crime against foreign nationals to engulf the whole country. In comparison with similar attacks in 2008, the violent spree in 2015 is characterised by a stronger surge in criminal activities. The militancy showcased fed a sense of insecurity amongst foreigners, creating a situation inconsistent with the country’s vaunted respect for human rights and the rule of law. Investors lost confidence in the country’s outlook, owing in part to determined denialism in government circles regarding the targeting of foreigners. While drawing from existing debates, the article’s principal objective is to critically examine the structural problems that enable xenophobia to proliferate and the (in)effectiveness of responses to the militancy involved in the 2015 attacks. Of particular interest are the suggested responses that could be effective in curbing future violence. The article concludes that xenophobia is systemic in post-apartheid South Africa. Strong cooperation between the government, national and international organisations could provide the basis for successful anti-xenophobia measures. The article further argues that the country is obliged to find a sustainable solution to the predicament for humanitarian reasons firstly, and in recognition of the support South Africans received from its African counterparts during the liberation struggle.


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