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Constitutional law

A set of standards concerning, among others, the basic principles of the political and economic system of the state, the organization of public authorities, the manner of their appointment, their competences and responsibility, as well as civil rights and obligations. The basic normative act in this area is the Constitution, and detailed provisions are specified by statutes. These include, for example, the Election Code or the Act on Political Parties.

Civil (private) law

One of the basic branches of private law, derived from Roman law, is the civil law. Civil law regulates legal relationships between equal entities, which may be, for example, natural persons or legal persons. It concerns propertypropertyproperty and non‑propertynon‑propertynon‑property relationships, and also protects personal interests (e.g. health, honor, good name, artistic creation).

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Infografika. W jej centrum znajduje się napis "The most important rules of civil law". Wokół niego umieszczono następujące informacje: 1. good faith; 2. protection of acquired rights; 3. protection of personal interests; 4. equality of parties; 5. protection of property; 6. freedom of contact.

Two most important civil law normative acts in Poland are:

• the Civil Code of April 23, 1964,

• the Code of Civil Procedure of November 17, 1964.

Family law

Family law was derived from civil law. It regulates issues related to marriage, separation and divorce, relationships (including property) between spouses, and between parents and children, as well as adoption. In Polish law, these issues are regulated by the Act of February 25, 1964 - the Family and Guardianship Code.

Commercial law

Commercial law is a branch of law derived from civil law. It specifies the types of commercial companies, rules for their creation and operation. In Polish law, these issues are regulated by the Act of September 15, 2000 - the Commercial Companies Code.

Labour law

Labour law is a branch of law derived from civil law, encompassingto encompassencompassing the relations between employers and employees, regulating the principles of operation of the employers’ and employees' organizations, the principles of concluding collectivecollectivecollective agreements and the rules for conducting collective labour disputes.

The most important normative act of Polish labour law is the Act of June 26, 1974 – the Labor Code.

Criminal law

Criminal law regulates the issues of responsibility for prohibited acts and the application of sanctions by the state. The prohibited acts are criminal offences (prohibited acts punishablepunishablepunishable under the law in force at the time of its commissioncommissioncommission, unlawful, culpableculpableculpable and socially harmful to a degree higher than negligiblenegligiblenegligible) or petty offences (socially harmful acts prohibited under the law in force at the time of committing it, under penalty of temporary imprisonment, restriction of liberty, a finefinefine up to 5000 zlotys or a reprimandreprimandreprimand). A criminal offence is either an indictable offence (a prohibited act punished by imprisonment for at least three years, or a more severe penalty) or a summary offence (a prohibited act punished by a fine higher than 30 times the daily rate, the restriction of liberty or imprisonment exceeding one month).

The most important normative acts of Polish criminal law are:

• the Criminal Code of June 6, 1997,

• the Code of Criminal Procedure of June 6, 1997,

• the Executive Penal Code of June 6, 1997,

• the Code of Petty Offences of May 20, 1971,

• the Code of Procedure for Petty Offences of August 24, 2001.

Administrative law in modern states is a very extensive and diversediversediverse branch of law (including, among others: huntinghuntinghunting, maritimemaritimemaritime, aviationaviationaviation, education, construction law). Its essential feature is that one of the parties of the legal relationship is a body of local or state authorities. The material part of administrative law is included in the laws regulating particular areas of social life, while the formal part is regulated in the Act of June 14, 1960 – the Code of Administrative Procedure.

In Roman law, on which the system of continental law is based (including the Polish law), there was a division into public and private law. In modern law there are ever new branches of law that are distinguished from civil, criminal or administrative law. It is related to such factors as: increasing the scope of public authorities activity, civilizational development, broadening the scope of civil rights and freedoms, and finally the influence of international law. The most important criteria for the division of law into branches are: the object of regulation (what the law applies to), the subject of regulation (who the law applies to), the territorial scope of the regulation and the method of regulation.

Keywords

branch of law, constitutional law, civil law, natural/legal persons, personal interests, Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure, family law, Family and Guardianship Code, commercial law, commercial companies, Commercial Companies Code, labour law, Labor Code, criminal law, criminal offences, petty offences, indictable offence, summary offence, Criminal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Executive Penal Code, Code of Petty Offences, Code of Procedure for Petty Offences, administrative law, Code of Administrative Procedure

Glossary