Jindřich Wankel a vídeňská c. k. Centrální komise pro výzkum a zachování uměleckých a historických památek

Jindřich Wankel’s collaboration with the k. k. Central-Commission zur Erforschung und Erhaltung der Kunst- und historischen Denkmale is not a widely known area of the scholar’s activities. And yet, in doing so he significantly contributed to the protection of archaeological heritage in Moravia: first as the commission’s correspondent (1883/1884–1885) and later as a conservator (1885–1893). His position enabled him to act in favour of the Olomouc Patriotic Museum Association and the Museum run by them. His activities were hindered by the legal framework of the time. Archaeological finds and sites were considered the property of the landowner and access to such required negotiations with the landowner and calling on their goodwill. This is clearly illustrated by the individual cases in which Wankel was involved.

The Establishment of the Supervisory Government in China

This paper examines amendments to the Chinese Constitution made in 2018, concerns the establishment of supervisory commissions. The Supervision Law of the PRC which develops Constitutional provisions is also studied. The author analyzes legal status of the State Supervision Commission and local supervision bodies. There is made a conclusion that abovementioned bodies have broad powers in the field of extra-judicial struggle against corruption. Moreover, it is argued that supervision bodies are not under control of administrative and judicial bodies of the PRC, and that they are responsible to the people’s congress only. Despite of the fact of supervision bodies’ independence they are welded with Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Therefore, these bodies give the Chinese Communists Party additional tools of influence on Chinese society.

The Post-War Reconstruction of the Ecclesiastical Building in Italy

Although we consider the Second Vatican Council the final destination of a path of renewal for the history of contemporary sacred art, it is, however, necessary to focus on its preparatory phase during the years of post-war reconstruction.Though the first impulse to this process was given with the institution of the Pontifical Central Commission for Sacred Art (PCCSA), strongly desired by Pius XI, whose purpose was to maintain «a sense of Christian art», the key figure for the formation of the artists first, and then for the complex task of directing the reconstruction works of all the ecclesiastical buildings devastated by the fury of the war, was Msgr. Giovanni Costantini, third president of the PCCSA.This contribution aims to highlight, through a comparative reading of unpublished archival sources, relating to the Abruzzo region, and consolidated literature, what were the dictates of the PCCSA regarding interventions on existing buildings and how they influenced the results that arose during the first period of reconstruction (1945-56).

Habilitacja jako warunek awansu naukowego w Polsce w latach 1990–2018

The right to conduct habilitacja (“habilitation”) proceedings under Polish law is not a new solution. These proceedings were conducted both in the interwar period, in the first years of the People’ s Poland, and during the Polish People’s Republic. The solutions adopted in those periods differed. Until the end of People’s Poland, the proceedings ended with the right to lecture (veniam legendi) but with no possibility of obtaining a scientific degree, in the years 1951–1958, following the example of Soviet solutions, the proceedings allowed to obtain a scientific degree of doctor of sciences, from 1958 to obtain a degree of a docent (assistant professor), and from 1968 – the degree of doktor habilitowany. The differences in legal solutions adopted at that time were also clearly visible in the conditions which higher education institutions had to meet in order to obtain the right to conduct the proceedings and confer titles, and candidates to be promoted to a higher degree of doktor habilitowany. Although the possibility of acquiring the degree of doktor habilitowany was re­tained from 1990 onwards, the legal conditions for the conduct of habilitacja pro­ceedings did not resemble the solutions of previous years. And so, as in the Act of 1965, as well as after 1990 the conferral of academic degrees was excluded from the law on higher education, but this law itself was subject to much more modest regulation. It was not until the Act of 2003 that solutions were introduced to grad­ually tighten the conditions imposed on organisational units applying for the right to confer the academic degree of doktor habilitowany and on persons applying for the initiation of habilitacja proceedings, as well as on the course of such proceedings. The year 2011 brought revolutionary changes in this respect. The amending law introduced a new order in the process leading to the conferral of the academic degree of doktor habilitowany. It covered not only the requirements which organisa­tional units applying for the right to ‘habilitate’ in the fields of science and scientific disciplines had to satisfy, but also a re-definition of these conditions. The course of the ‘habilitation’ proceedings and the participation in it of the Central Commission and the board of the relevant organisational unit, as well as the person applying for the degree of doktor habilitowany were significantly changed.

The Centralisation of the Chinese Communist Party’s Campaign against Corruption and Its Implications

Following the initiation of the policy of ‘Reform and Open Door’, the possibilities for public officials to trade power for private gain in China increased. To tackle the problem of corruption, different levels of Discipline Inspection Commissions (DICs) in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initiated investigation related to various corruption cases. However, due to the nature of the administrative set-up in China, the local DICs could not effectively carry out their functions. As a result, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) was compelled to take on a bigger role, including controlling personnel appointments in local DICs and dispatching inspection teams to local jurisdictions. This strategy also enabled the central government and the top leadership of the CCP to build up a positive image with respect to fighting corruption. Nevertheless, the discretionary power of the top party leaders that has been enhanced through these centralisation measures leads to doubts over the real motives behind the CCP’s anti-corruption efforts. In March 2018, the National Supervision Commission (NSC) was established as the highest governmental anti-corruption agency, but more time is needed to judge the effectiveness of this new institution.

PAOLO MANTEGAZZA: FUTURO DELLA RICERCA E DEI GIOVANI

Paolo Mantegazza started to cooperate with our Foundation in 2006 as a member of the Charity Central Commission, the board competent to the definition of the intervention priorities of the Cariplo Foundation. That occasion, however, was not the first one in which I got to know the professional and human qualities of Paolo Mantegazza. His competence and diligence in favour of the research were in fact well known to me from the early meetings with him, then Rector of the University of Milan. As a member of the Charity Commission, he was appointed as Coordinator of the Scientific Research Subcommittee, to which Paolo Mantegazza put an incomparable effort until 2013. During the seven years of cooperation I firmly confirm the commitment and competence of Paolo Mantegazza, and I personally bear witness to the energy and creative impetus he had in himself. He took on his commitment in the Foundation with his typical seriousness, being present at every meeting and becoming available to any further confrontation besides the formal engagement. He has always showed a deep respect for the work of the Foundation, particularly for the Research Area with which he closely cooperated. He was always careful and systematically updated about his research field, as well as the ongoing debates at international level on the research policies and financing. Moreover he always shared with his collaborators the more recent progresses, carefully selected in the fields closer to the activities of the Foundation, bringing always new life to the debate in the Subcommittee. I can say without any doubt that is unusual to find, in personalities of such a distinction and competence, a spirit of cooperation and a sincere willingness to operate personally for the sake of the research, and to ensure the transparency of methods and choices, even when unpopular. I am therefore honored of the invitation I have received, because it gives me the occasion to recall in particular the commitment of Paolo Mantegazza in favour of the new generations and the “frontier” research. I think that an example can clarify the open mindedness and the propensity to innovation that characterized his personality. Paolo was very alert to the role of the financing mechanisms in the development of the creativity in the research. In particular, he was aware of to what extent the financing agencies, the governments and the companies tended to give priority – at the international level and even more in Italy – to lines of action intended to achieve short-term results, driven by the exigence to give account to the public opinion or to maximize their investments. The methods used in the selection of the proposals tend to reward the excellence placing one’s trust in subjects who already possess preliminary results or who own a rich curriculum vitae, considered as a guarantee of future success. Besides, Paolo Mantegazza was strongly convinced that strict disciplinary bounds in the distribution of funds could disadvantage the pursuit of interdisciplinary research approaches, which on the contrary represent uncontested opportunities to face complex issues. Just to promote unconventional lines of research and allow the exploration of new frontiers of knowledge, Paolo Mantegazza has firmly pursued and sponsored the birth of a new erogative instrument specifically devoted to the frontier research, dedicated to young researchers, who struggle to affirm original approaches in the context of more traditional funding channels. In our Foundation we consider the “Prize for the frontier research” one of the most significant heritage of the Commissioner Paolo Mantegazza, who in this way has contributed to the creation of a favorable context to the frontier research, essential driver of the scientific and social progress, encouraging the young researchers to undertake unconventional lines of research. I always believed that the treasure that will allow us to face new challenges of our society is really in the dialogue among the various competences that young people are able to express. The importance that Paolo Mantegazza has always recognised to young people, drivers of innovation, has been inherited by one of the three challenges which the new Charity Central Commission took for the current term, besides the community welfare and the well-breng.