Recenzja: J. Widacki, A. Szuba-Boroń, Sprawy o szpiegostwo przed sądami wileńskimi w okresie II RP. Przyczynek do historii zmagań polskiego wywiadu i kontrwywiadu z wywiadem sowieckim i litewskim, Kraków 2020, 208 s.

As so far, the research issues that J. Widacki and A. Szuba-Boroń became interested in have not been the subject of scientific interests. During the diplomatic mission in Vilnius, J. Widacki continued his scientific interests, reaching the files of espionage cases dated from the interwar period. On the other hand, A. Szuba-Boroń examined, inter alia, the files of espionage cases, dealing with the prose of Sergiusz Piasecki, the writer and former spy. The picture of a border, and in it the struggle of Soviet, Lithuanian and Polish intelligence services is undoubtedly an interesting background for research. The authors are aware of the research limitations, as they did not reach the cases tried in other Regional Courts, located in the territory of the then – Republic of Poland. They realistically estimate that finding and examining all of the criminal espionage cases pending before the courts of the Second Polish Republic seem to be impossible today. The undertaken research efforts are worth to be emphasized.

Prawo czy bezprawie? O legalności wprowadzenia Niemieckiej Listy Narodowościowej na Górnym Śląsku w świetle czwartej konwencji haskiej postrzeganej przez pryzmat wykładni prawa międzynarodowego przez prawników niemieckich i polskich

In the following article, I will attempt to present the matter of the German Nationality List in Upper Silesia from three historical and legal perspectives, as well as a brief overview of how it influenced the fate of the Upper Silesians and the Polish-German relations. After a short description of the most important results of the introduction of the German Nationality List in Upper Silesia and its impact on the relations between the Polish and German people, I will present the literal wording of the Fourth Hague Convention (with particular emphasis on the third chapter including the exercise of occupation) and show an example of its use after the First World War. In the next part, I will present the Polish legal interpretation of its provisions in the context of assessing the legality of introducing the German Nationality List in Upper Silesia. In the last part, I will present the different standpoint of German lawyers to achieve my main research goal, which was to present (in a comparative way) the importance of the legal interpretation in international law – although texts of the conventions are most often formulated clearly and initially their wording does not raise any doubts in the interpreter, they create the possibility of a broad interpretation, often openly undermining the foundations of the entire international order. Although the example itself is historical, the subject of differences in the interpretation of international law is particularly important nowadays, with the advancing globalization and international integration. The article uses both the texts of legal acts (the Fourth Hague Convention and the Briand-Kellogg Pact) and their subsequent interpretations by Polish and German lawyers. In the part concerning Polish-German relations in the light of the German Nationality List in Upper Silesia, the memories of witnesses of history were also used.

Spektakl śmierci – przebieg egzekucji elit w Anglii w XVI i XVII w.

The aim of this article is to present the path of a convicted person from a conviction to the execution of a sentence in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. The public was particularly interested in their trials and executions. Often, the issue of a death sentence was based on political motives and it affected, for example, former advisors of the king who had stopped to enjoy the graces of the ruling monarch. The analysis focuses primarily on social elites. Aspects of execution, including the execution method, the time and clothing of the convict, and his last words, are discussed in the article. The methods of execution were outlined, taking into account that some crimes correspond with specific methods of administering the death penalty. It was most common practice to behead the heads of aristocratic convicts. There were, however, instances when the qualified death penalty was applied. I also analyzed in this study the content of the last speeches delivered by the convicts. They provide insight into how the litter penalty has been perceived in society. Also, they show whether the convicts agreed with the sentence or opposed it. Included in the narrative are the last moments of the convict, as well as his interactions with the executioner. The sources of this thesis are the correspondence, chronicles and the paper published in the 16th and 17th century. The amount of published materials concerning the executions shows the interesting in that subject in English society.

Wpływ ustawodawstwa III Rzeszy na polskie projekty ustaw eugenicznych (1933–1939)

The matter of development of the eugenic movement Has already been described in the Polish science. A lot has been written regarding both the law of the Third Reich, as well as the history of the Polish eugenic movement. However Polish project of eugenic laws have never been thoroughly analyzed from the legal point of view, despite this topic being an object to commentaries in the Interwar period. Up to this point no one attempted to analyze how strongly did the Nazi eugenic concepts influenced the Polish projects of eugenic laws. According to some authors such inspirations are easily noticeable. Thus the thesis that the German law strongly influenced the Polish projects shall be subjected to a critical analysis. The goal of the paper is to compare the German eugenic law with Polish concepts on that matter, especially projects made by Leon Wernic. Due to the use of the comparative legal analysis in the historical perspective, it was possible to indicate the similarities and dissimilarities between the Polish projects and the Nazi laws: Law for the Prevention of Hereditary and diseases of offspring; the Nuremberg Laws; the Law for the Protection of the Health of the German People. The Polish drafts include the Preventive Eugenics Act published in 1934, the drafts of four eugenics laws published in 1935; project of the law: ,,On the inhibition of reproduction of dysgenic individuals” created by Wernic; draft of the law ,,On the inhibition of undesirable reproduction” made by Witold Łuniewski and ,,Eugenics Laws” prepared by Bohdan Ostromęcki. The so-called „Eugenics Act” of 1938 has also been analyzed. The paper indicates that although Wernic explicitly pointed out his inspiration by German and Italian legislation, his concepts as well as concepts of other Polish eugenicists are original. Similarities with German legislation can be seen for example in the procedure of sterilization or a certain concordance of the catalog of diseases which qualified for sterilization. The Polish proposals, however, were not identical with the Nazi proposals. Neither were they racist or anti-Jewish in content. Moreover, the role of so-called positive eugenics was more strongly emphasized in Poland than in Germany.

O sędziach pokoju w pracach Komisji Kodyfikacyjnej II Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej

The article presents work on the unification of the Polish judiciary in the Second Republic in the years 1918–1928. It was carried out in three tracks. The initiator of the first moves consisting in unification of district regulations, reorganisation and taking over the judiciary was the government and the Ministry of Justice. Since February 1919, these measures were supported and approved by the Legislative Sejm (later the Sejm). Since November 1919 the burden of work was taken over by the Codification Commission of the Republic of Poland. The aim of this article is to discuss the course of work on the law on the system of common courts within the Codification Committee of the Republic of Poland, with particular emphasis on the provisions on justices of the peace. From this point of view, it will help to solve the main research problem of the article: to what extent did the Polish Codification Commission contribute to shaping the institution of justices of the peace in the Ordinance of the President of the Republic of Poland on Law on the System of Judiciary of 6 February 1928. The article makes use of archival materials, protocols from the sessions of the Codification Commission of the Second Polish Republic, the legal literature of the Second Republic and the current literature on the subject.

Orędzie biskupów polskich do biskupów niemieckich jako krok do unormowania stosunków polsko-niemieckich

The issue of Polish-German reconciliation after 1945 and the actions of both parties to reach an agreement are undoubtedly related to the activities of the Catholic Church in Poland and of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, who led it. Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops is a symbol of forgiveness and the will to rebuild relations between the Polish and German nations. The step taken by the leaders of the Church in Poland towards the German side contributed to the normalization and, with time, of establishing mutual Polish-German relations. The aim of the work is to show the essence of the Polish bishops letter and showing the reaction of both sides to the actions taken by the church hierarchs. At work, Polish-German relations are quite fast before the publication of the Polish Orbis to German bishops, as well as the situation after the publication of the letter. The article presents the process of preparing the letter in chronological order, as well as the ideas that guided the authors of the breakthrough work. The article presents what problems after the publication of Lub, the Catholic Church in Poland and its leadership had to face. There were also shown responses to propaganda and anti-church trust in people towards the Church and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. The work shows how important a moment in the history of Polish-German relations is the publication of the letter of the Polish bishops, which is to become the basis for the improvement and, over time, the establishment of relations between neighbors. The work describes a topic repeatedly raised by other authors, but contains new information, developed over the years, about the essence of this important work.

Działalność parlamentarna Michała Łazarskiego (1928–1939)

Michał Łazarski (1896–1944) was born in Sztabin in Suwałki Governorate. His parents were Teofila and Józef. He was a deputy of Sejm of the Republic of Poland in the years 1928–1938 and subsequently a senator from 1938 until 1939. He was also a well-known local government activist in the Białystok Voivodeship. He was interested in agriculture and the military. Before he started his career in the Parliament, he had fought for his Motherland as a member of The Polish Military Organisation as well as during the Polish-Soviet War. Michał Łazarski died at the time of the Warsaw Uprising on 1st of August 1944. The main point of this publication is to present his parliamentary activity. The biography of Łazarski was a subject of research by H. Majecki, J. Rółkowski, G. Ryżewski, W. Batura, A. Makowski, J. Szlaszyński and others. The majority of information about the deputy was gathered in a publication called “Aktywni w codzienności: z dziejów instytucji i stowarzyszeń gminy Sztabin”. The main resources of Łazarski’s parliamentary activity of the interwar period are Sejm and Senate documents located in the Sejm Library’s website (https://biblioteka.sejm.gov.pl). I have also used press materials and publications describing the history of Polish parliamentarism. The point of this publication is also to present how the Sejm and Senate in II Republic of Poland operated. The parliamentary activity of Michał Łazarski in the interwar period is a good way to realise this intention. It was a very intense period in the history of polish parliamentarism.

Polsko-niemiecki pakt o nieagresji z 1934 r. – geneza i przegląd postanowień

One of the effects of the end of the First World War (then known as the Great War), was a significant geopolitical transformation on the map of Europe. Many new states were established at that time. One of them was Poland (the Second Polish Republic). The territory of the newly created state included part of the lands previously belonging to Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. The conceding of Greater Poland and parts of Pomerania and Upper Silesia to the reborn Republic of Poland caused a deep conflict between Poland and Germany. One of the main goals of the Weimar Republic’s foreign policy was to regain the disputed territories. The interests of both countries were therefore at odds, and one of the manifestations of the poor relations was the Customs War. Following Adolf Hitler’s seizure of power, Marshal Józef Piłsudski proposed France a preventive war, in order to remove the dictator from power. This was a turning point that led to an improvement in mutual relations, resulting in the conclusion of a non-aggression pact. Contacts between the two countries revived, and Nazi propaganda ceased its attacks on Poland. The period of warming ended with the first territorial claims against the Republic of Poland, including the incorporation of the Free City of Danzig into the Third Reich. Deterioration of diplomatic relations, combined with British-French military guarantees for Poland, led to the declaration of the Pact by Germany in April 1939. The aim of this article is to present the genesis and content of the Polish-German non-aggression pact and to analyze it from the legal point of view, as well as from the point of view of the intentions of the parties which accompanied its conclusion.

Problem religijnego wychowania dzieci w poniemieckim prawie II Rzeczypospolitej

We are witnessing mass migrations. Far more than a million Ukrainians, people close to Poles, ethnically and culturally, constantly live and work in Poland. Likewise, the multitude of Poles are continually abroad. Frequently members of different religions marry each other (or analogous informal relationships are established), they have children and want to raise them religiously or instil them a different worldview. What religion or worldview should their mutual children receive in case of their parents’ differences in beliefs? Paternalistic Prussia issued casuistic regulations regarding this. Initially, they were based on rather just assumptions, but quickly took the anti-Polish form. The reborn Second Republic of Poland decided that until the implementation of the Polish law, unified in the scale of the entire country, the post-annexation regulations should apply temporarily in the areas of their existing application. No unequivocal answer how religiously (ideologically) mixed marriages should raise their children in this respect has been provided in Polish law since 1946, that is, from the unification of Polish family law. In order to find a solution of this issue within comparative law studies, we should look at post-German law and jurisprudence of the Second Republic of Poland, particularly at indirectly assessing them judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Hoffmann v. Austria. This ruling shaped the current line of jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. It was issued by a minimal majority of votes: 5 to 4, with 4 dissenting opinions. The point of view presented in it has been more widely accepted with time. The Court’s ruling in the case of Palau-Martinez v. France, which repeatedly invoked this judgment, was adopted by 6 votes to 1, with only 1 dissenting opinion.

Rozwój teorii i praktyki stosowania fiskalizmu na świecie i w Polsce z odniesieniem do współczesnej sytuacji epidemii COVID-19

Subsequent economic crises (including the COVID-19 crisis) have shared many common characteristics relating to this phase of the business cycle. In each subsequent, their differences also appear-especially in terms of the methods used by economic practice to overcome them, resulting from existing new economic realities. The main topic addressed by this paper is the evolution of theory and practice of fiscalism both in Poland and the world. The subject has aimed at presenting a study providing an overview including taxation and fiscalism with the potential for further consideration of aspects and directions of change which, suitably modified for the new conditions, may also be helpful nowadays in seeking ways out of economic crises, especially the most recent one related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A research hypothesis pointing to the special importance of fiscalism in the conditions of economic breakdowns – including the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, indicates that it is difficult to unequivocally clarify the boundaries (upper and lower) of the application of fiscalism. The descriptive method, supported by analytical elements, illustrates the evolution of views on taxes, fiscalism, and public debt and present empirical studies in this field from the global literature. Furthermore, the method was supported by a cause-effect analysis of the described relations. Finally, generalizations and conclusions allowing to verify the previously stated research hypothesis were derived.