Public Security in the Polish Law on State of Emergency

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
Bernard Wiśniewski

This article presents the essential issues in the provisions of the law relating to public security in force in the Republic of Poland which are used in conditions of extraordinary internal threats that cannot be dealt with using ordinary legal tools. The considerations are based on an analysis of the legally regulated obligations of the state as a political organisation to society for securing the conditions for its survival in a changing security environment. This serves to present the basic issues of public security and the rules for the use of the State instruments for states of emergency. The rest of this article presents the relationship between issues of public security and a state of emergency. In this part of the article it is essential to discuss the circumstances that must exist to be able to employ specific legal measures in the conditions of threats to the constitutional order of the State and threats affecting the security of the citizens or of public order (including those caused by terrorist activities). Consequently, it discusses the impact of the rigours of a state of emergency in relation to the potential for limiting the escalation of these threats. The final part of the article also presents other instruments, apart from the state of emergency which, in the Polish legal system, can be used in the fight against threats which endanger public security and that are related to prohibited activities in cyberspace.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-142
Author(s):  
Robert Socha ◽  
António Tavares

On 11th March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a state of pandemic. In turn, on 21 March 2020, the Minister of Health, by way of a regulation, declared a state of epidemic in the territory of the Republic of Poland. At the same time, the decision resulted in the introduction of many restrictions concerning, inter alia, freedom of movement, assembly and trade. At the same time, discussions started on the constitutionality of the introduced restrictions on civil liberties. Having the above in mind, the aim of this article is to present the correlation in the sphere of limiting or suspending civil liberties in a state of emergency, such as a state of natural disaster, and in “non-emergency” states, such as a state of epidemic threat and a state of pandemic. Although the word “state” appears in the three mentioned legal situations, the state of natural disaster, as one of the three constitutional states of emergency, creates a different legal and socio-political situation than the state of epidemic threat or the state of pandemic. A common feature of the above-mentioned events, however, is that they became a fundamental disruption of the social context of individual and group functioning in connection with the occurrence of a human infectious disease.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Gao ◽  
Sumio Fujita ◽  
Nobuyuki Shimizu ◽  
Kongmeng Liew ◽  
Taichi Murayama ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND COVID-19 has disrupted lives and livelihoods and caused widespread panic across communities and societies. Emerging reports suggest that people living in rural areas in some countries are more susceptible to COVID-19. However, there is a lack of quantitative evidence that can shed light on whether residents of rural areas are more concerned about COVID-19 than residents of urban areas. OBJECTIVE This study investigated attitudes toward COVID-19 in different Japanese prefectures by aggregating and analyzing Yahoo! JAPAN search queries. METHODS We measured COVID-19 concerns in each Japanese prefecture by aggregating search counts of the COVID-19-related queries of Yahoo! JAPAN users and the data related to COVID-19 cases. We then defined two indices—the localized concern index (LCI) and localized concern index by patient percentage (LCIPP)—to quantitatively represent the degree of concern. To investigate the impact of emergency declarations on people's concerns, we divided our study period into three phases according to the timing of the declaration of the state of emergency in Japan: before, during, and after. In addition, we evaluated the relationship between the LCI and LCIPP in different prefectures by correlating them with prefecture-level indicators of urbanization. RESULTS Our results demonstrated that the concerns about COVID-19 in the prefectures changed in accordance with the declaration of the state of emergency. The correlation analyses also indicated that the differentiated types of public concern measured by the LCI and LCIPP reflect the prefectures’ level of urbanization to a certain extent (i.e., the LCI appears to be more suitable for quantifying COVID-19 concern in urban areas, while the LCIPP seems to be more appropriate for rural areas). CONCLUSIONS We quantitatively defined Japanese Yahoo users’ concerns about COVID-19 by using the search counts of COVID-19-related search queries. Our results also showed that the LCI and LCIPP have external validity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (Suppl.1) ◽  
pp. 522-528
Author(s):  
N. Karatova

After the declaration of the state of emergency in the country, a significant human and financial resource in Bulgarian municipalities was mobilised in order to fully implement the prescriptions of health authorities and to establish an organization to ensure the safety of life and health of citizens. In addition, municipal administrations continued to carry out their normal activities and provide much of the usual public services. At the same time, the intensity of work in the various activities of the municipality has changed completely, leading to a complete restructuring of the expenditures in municipal budgets. Activities related to social services have suffered an extreme workload. Other activities in the fields of culture, sport, school and children's health, and the economy have been completely discontinued. Educational work has been thoroughly restructured. In this regard, and at the background of drastically reduced own revenues of municipalities compared to the period March - April 2019, an acute shortage of liquid resources in municipal budgets has emerged, which is now growing exponentially. The report will present in detail both the trends in municipal expenditures and the reasons for the reduction of own revenues and will outline proposals for implementing measures to address the liquidity problem of municipalities in a short and medium term perspective.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 69-90
Author(s):  
Maja Nastić

Given the current pandemic coronavirus, the paper analyzes the state’s response to the dis- ease caused by the virus (COVID-19) from the standpoint of two neighbouring countries i.e. the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia. Special attention was paid to the states’ response to the pandemic from human rights perspective. The research was conducted into the patterns of their “struggle”, especially as regards the human rights restrictions they had opted for within their constitutional framework. The starting point of the paper was that human rights often are the victims of the crises and that they are easily restricted for a longer periods. In this respect, the author deals with possible answers to the questions about the quality and content of human rights, and how the protection of human rights was ensured in these exceptional circumstances. This legal framework was linked to current statistics on the number of COVID-19 cases. Having analyzed the response of the two states, it could be noted that both states have constitutional provisions governing the state of emergency, allowing them the rule of law in these exceptional circumstances. Both constitutions recognize a list of human rights that may be derogated in state of emergency. However, in Croatia, the state of emergency was not introduced, and the human rights were restricted in accordance with the given epidemiological situation. In Serbia, the struggle against COVID-19 took place in state of emergency and was marked by an extremely restrictive regime of human rights, which was partly in conflict with the constitutional order. The constitutional concept of absolute protection of human rights, in their broadest sense, had proved unsustainable in practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-67
Author(s):  
Valentina Chekharina

The COVID-19 pandemic became widespread across the world throughout 2020 and 2021 in an emergency that gravely impacted the health and lives of people around the world. States have taken exceptional measures to combat the pandemic, including controversial decisions to introduce emergency regimes, which have been questioned in regards to their compliance with constitutional regulations. The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic requires special measures, however they must remain within the constitutional framework. Consequently, the pandemic and its effect upon the legality of regimes in a state of emergency has captured the attention of legal scholars. The aim of this study is to analyse the constitutional regulation of the state of emergency in the Republic of Poland which was introduced in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Poland, an emergency regime was introduced following an order by the Minister of Health. However the state of emergency (here, natural disaster) as stated by the Constitution was not introduced, although, according to analysts, some state bodies and officials had confirmed that all the necessary conditions for this were met. On 2 March 2020, the so-called Special Law on Coronavirus was adopted, followed by other regulations to fight the pandemic. These analysts stated that the measures introduced by the new acts corresponded to a legal regime containing the constitutional characteristics of a state of emergency, but lacked the appropriate constitutional procedure for their introduction. Presidential elections were held at this time, however legally they cannot be held during a state of emergency, as it indicates the presence of political interests in the choice of the regime. The unconstitutional procedure of the introduction of emergency measures alongside their characteristics of the state of emergency make it possible to consider the epidemic regime introduced in Poland a “hybrid” state of emergency, which is not detailed by the Constitution or legislation. On this basis, the study concludes that reasons behind the unconstitutional response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland can be found in both the Constitution, and in the manifestations of the crisis of the constitutional and legal system, which began with the reform of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal by the ruling Law and Justice party in 2015.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Tofigh Maboudi ◽  
Ghazal P. Nadi ◽  
Todd A. Eisenstadt

Abstract Since the third wave of democracy, term limits have become a popular fixture of most constitutions intended to constrain the executive. Yet, recent constitutional reforms around the world show that presidents seeking re-election sometimes overturn the entire constitutional order to extend their power. What is the impact of these constitutional manipulations on the longevity of the executive in office? Using survival analysis of all political leaders and national constitutions from 1875 to 2015, this article demonstrates, for the first time, that when ‘authoritarian-aspiring’ presidents remove constitutional term limits, they increase their stay in office by more than 40%. Our findings contrast with a widely held position in the comparative authoritarian literature suggesting that dictators survive longer under institutional constraints. On the contrary, we argue that by removing constitutional barriers, rulers consolidate more power at the expense of their most ambitious allies and can stay in power longer.


2021 ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
Iulian Rusanovschi ◽  

On 17.03.2020, the Parliament declared a state of emergency on the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova for the period March 17 - May 15, 2020. By the same Decision, the Parliament delegated the Commission for Exceptional Situations with the right to implement a series of measures to overcome the epidemiological situation in the country. However, in the conditions of a functioning Parliament and despite the clear and exhaustive texts of the Constitution, the Commission for Exceptional Situations amended during the state of emergency the Contravention Code, which is an organic law. The amendments specifically concerned the procedure and terms for examining infringement cases brought in connection with non-compliance with the measures adopted by the Commission for Exceptional Situations and the Extraordinary Commission for Public Health. In the conditions in which an organic law can be modified only by the Parliament, it is obvious the unconstitutionality, at least partial, of the Disposition no. 4 of 24.03.2020 of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, but unfortunately, the Constitutional Court is not mandated with the right to submit to constitutional review the normative acts adopted by the Commission for Exceptional Situations. Under these conditions, the state is obliged to identify solutions in order not to allow an authority to adopt unconstitutional normative acts that cannot be subject to constitutional review.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 4-19
Author(s):  
Akmal Baltayevich Allakuliev ◽  

The article examines the interaction of the country's GDP with the state budget in the short and long term, the impact of the macro-fiscal mechanism on the country's economic growth on the example of Uzbekistan.The aim of the study is to identify dynamic correlations between the country's state budget expenditures and the economic growth of the macro-fiscal mechanism in the short and long term, as well as to analyze the approximation or rate of return of GDP and the state budget to equilibrium during various macroeconomic shocks. and hesitation.The scientific novelties of the research are:


2021 ◽  
Vol 3(164) ◽  
pp. 143-165
Author(s):  
Piotr Stanisz

The purpose of the present study is to analyse the restrictions on the freedom of religious worship introduced by the Polish executive authorities in the face of the spreading COVID-19 epidemic. The analysis aims to answer questions not only concerning the conformity of these actions with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and statutory laws, but also pertaining to the issue of the level of preparation of Polish law for an epidemic. In reference to these questions, the author concludes that the introduction of restrictions on the freedom to manifest religion by acts of worship in the regulations issued by the Minister of Health and the Council of Ministers exceeds the bounds of statutory authorisation and is inconsistent with the Polish Constitution. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, passing a law remains the only admissible way of introducing restrictions on the freedom of manifestation of religion, and there are no exceptions to this rule even in states of emergency. On the other hand, the author also points out that if the effectiveness of combating this kind of epidemic really depends on possibility of introducing the above-mentioned restrictions without a long legislative process, it means that Polish executive authorities have been confronted by the constitutional legislator and the legislature with a choice between being efficient and acting in conformity with the Constitution and statutory laws. Therefore, the article postulates that it is necessary to make deep changes to the current law. Elaborating a broad concept of these changes requires further analysis, and the relevant discussion needs to take into account the experience gained so far in combating the coronavirus epidemic, the importance of freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the solutions adopted in other countries. A clear and balanced, as well as properly sequenced and democratically justified specification of the rules that should be followed by the executive when introducing restrictions related to the spread of the epidemic, even with regard to such important values as the freedom to manifest religion through acts of worship, is undoubtedly more appropriate than formally ruling out the possibility of taking action that may turn out necessary in the future.


Author(s):  
Ateş Altınordu

Religion and secularism have been central threads in Turkish politics throughout the history of the republic. This chapter focuses on three important aspects of the relationship between religion and politics in contemporary Turkey. First, it explores the political functions of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), a government agency that has served as the primary means for the implementation of the religious policies of the Turkish state. Second, it investigates the relations between Islamic communities, political parties, and the state and argues that the distinction between official and unofficial Islam that has informed much of the work on the Turkish religious field must be strongly qualified. Finally, the author focuses on the trajectory of political Islam in Turkey, critically reviewing the literature on the rise, political incorporation, and authoritarian turn of Islamic parties. The conclusion emphasizes the need for studies investigating the impact of politics on religiosity in Turkish society.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document