Sources and areas of law
You are able to define law, and explain the relationship between the law and other normative systems.
You are able to explain, using the example of Poland, what the consequences of adopting the rule of law principle are.
You will be able to characterize the concept of a legal norm, a provision and a legal act.
You will be able to present the types of legal acts in force in Poland.
You will be able to describe the most common systems of law and explain various types of law.
You will be able to indicate in which official publishing organ specific legal acts can be found.
Legal norm
A rule of behaviour established by a legitimate state authority that explains who and under what circumstances should behave in a certain way.
Structure of the legal norm:
The hypothesis specifies the addresseeaddressee of the norm and the conditions and circumstances in which the rule of behaviour applies.
The disposition specifies the prohibited, prescribed or permitted behavior in the circumstances described in the hypothesis.
The sanction determines the consequences connected with behavior incompatible withincompatible with the disposition of the norm.
Introduction to jurisprudence (Wstęp do prawoznawstwa)[Legal provision] – „a statement formulated in the legal language, constituting a grammatical wholegrammatical whole, contained in the text of a normative act and separated as an article, paragraph, point, etc.”
Source: Tatiana Chauvin, Tomasz Stawecki, Piotr Winczorek, Introduction to jurisprudence (Wstęp do prawoznawstwa), Warszawa 2017, s. 122.
The relationship between a legal norm and a legal provision is the same as the relationship between content and form. The contentcontent defining the rules of behaviour is the legal norm, the provision is only a form in which the content of the norm is included. In other words, norms (rules of behaviour) can be derived frombe derived from the analysis of legal provisions.
Introduction to jurisprudence (Wstęp do prawoznawstwa)[A normative (legal) act] – „is a document of public authority containing legal norms (included in its provisions) regulating an aspect of social relations.”
Source: Tatiana Chauvin, Tomasz Stawecki, Piotr Winczorek, Introduction to jurisprudence (Wstęp do prawoznawstwa), Warszawa 2017, s. 122.
Normative acts varyvary depending on the organs authorized to issue them, subject to regulation or place in the hierarchy of sources of law.
The Constitution of the Republic of PolandChapter III
Sources of law
Article 87
1. The sources of universally binding law of the Republic of Poland shall be: the Constitution, statutes, ratified international agreements, and regulations.
2. Enactments of local law issued by the operation of organs shall be a source of universally binding law of the Republic of Poland in the territory of the organ issuing such enactments.
Article 88
1. The condition precedentprecedent for the coming into force of statutes, regulations and enactments of local law shall be the promulgation thereof.
2. The principles of and procedures for promulgation of normative acts shall be specified by statute.
3. International agreements ratified with priorprior consent granted by statute shall be promulgated in accordance with the procedures required for statutes. The principles of promulgation of other international agreements shall be specified by statute.
Source: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
In Poland, normative acts are published in various publishing organs (formal sources of law). At present, normative acts are also published online. To understand normative acts it is also useful to analyze case lawcase law including, for example, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court or the European Court of Justice rulingsrulings.
The Online Legal Database is a very practical tool to search for legal acts.
Official publishing organs (formal sources of law) in Poland
Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw);
Gazette of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski” (the Polish Monitor);
journals of ministries, central offices and voivodeships.
Only legal acts published in the Official Journal or the Polish Monitor constitute a legitimate source of law in Poland. The journals of ministries, central offices and voivodeships only reprint the legal acts published elsewhereelsewhere.
A legal system consists of structured and interrelatedinterrelated norms enshrined in normative acts binding at a given time in a state. In modern states there are two different types of legal systems. One of them is sometimes referred to as the system of continental law (or the civil law system), while the other is called the Anglo‑Saxon law system (or the common law system).
The legal system in Poland is a system of continental law. The key role in this system is played by positive, codified law, which should constitute a complete and consistent set of norms. The law is created as a result of decisions of the most important state authorities (the parliament, government, President of the Republic, local authorities). Today, however, we are also dealing with an increasing impact of international law and European Union law on the national Polish legal system. Most of the laws passed by our Sejm after Poland's accession to the European Union structures are connected with the necessity to introduce EU directivesdirectives into domestic legislation.
Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise. Match the pairs: English and Polish words.
pochodzić z, dyrektywa, wskazanie, rozstrzygnięcie (sądu), precedens, uprzedni, orzecznictwo, rządzić, współzależne, wzajemnie powiązane
| precedent | |
| to be derived from | |
| prior | |
| case law | |
| (court) ruling | |
| interrelated | |
| to govern | |
| directive |
Keywords
legal norm, hypothesis, disposition, sanction, legal provision, normative act, Constitution, statutes, ratified international agreements, regulations, enactments of local law, promulgation, Online Legal Database, Journal of Laws, Gazette of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski” (the Polish Monitor), journals of ministries/ central offices and voivodeships, legal system, common law, civil law, substantive (material) law, procedural (formal) law, public law, private law, national (domestic) law, local law, international (public/private) law, European Union law
Glossary
adresat
niezgodny z
gramatyczna całość
treść
pochodzić z
różnić się (być zróżnicowanym)
uprzedni
orzecznictwo
rozstrzygnięcie (sądu)
gdzie indziej
współzależne, wzajemnie powiązane
precedens
obalić
sugerować
rządzić
dyrektywa, wskazanie