Topic: In which code can you find the provisions of Polish law?

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

high school / technical school student

Core curriculum:

• old curriculum:

standard level:

2. Law and Courts.

The student:

4) explains the differences between civil, criminal and administrative law; indicates the code in which the rules concerning the specific case can be found.

extended level:

30. The legal system of the Republic of Poland.

The student:

3) indicates the branches and codes of law where the relevant provisions should be sought.

• new curriculum:

standard level:

V. Law of the Republic of Poland.

The student:

3) recognises matters regulated by civil, family, administrative and criminal law; indicates the code applicable in the Republic of Poland where provisions concerning a specific matter can be found; interprets legal provisions.

extended level:

XI. Legal system in Poland

The student:

8) explains the legal institutions of the general provisions of civil law in the Republic of Poland (limited and full capacity for legal acts of a natural person; legal incapacitation; declaration of intent; legal person; legal acts and their form);

15) explains the legal institutions of the labour law in the Republic of Poland (employment contract and its types; employment contract dissolution and its types; types of leaves; workers’ rights and obligations);

17) explains the legal institutions of the family law in the Republic of Poland (prenup; divorce; separation; kinship and affinity; adoption);

20) applies in a case study the basic institutions of the criminal law in the Republic of Poland (criminal liability and petty crimes liability; a crime vs. a misdemeanour, a petty crime vs. a felony; guilt and punishment; presumption of innocence; right to defence; criminal liability exemptions).

The general aim of education:

The student characterises the institutions of the Polish legal system.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• analyses the most important branches of law.

• distinguishes between provisions from different branches of law.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• WebQuest,

• mind map,

• teaching conversation using interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• work in pairs,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will analyse different branches of Polish law.

2. The teacher gives some examples of issues regulated in different branches of law (e.g. divorce, murder, unlawful dismissal, building permit, etc.) that may be known to students from everyday life and asks them about differences they see between the nature of these issues. Willing/selected students give their suggestions. The teacher informs students that on the basis of the differences noticed by them, the law has been divided into different branches.

Implementation:

1. The teacher divides the class into 6 groups and assigns one branch of law to each of them:

• constitutional,

• criminal,

• civil,

• administrative,

• family and custody,

• labour.

2. The teacher informs the students that they will work using the WebQuest method and, if necessary, explains its principles. The task of the groups is to prepare a poster on which they will present the following issues in the form of a mind map:

• Legislative acts that regulate particular field of law.

• Examples of issues regulated within a given field of law.

• Definition of particular field/branch of law.

While working on posters, students can use abstract content (e.g. “The most important rules of civil law” infographics, interactive schemes “Basic principles of labour law”, “The main principles of administrative proceedings specified in the Code of Administrative Procedure”) and other Internet sources. The teacher sets the time for completion of the task.

3. After this time, the posters are displayed in the classroom and the representatives present the results of the group's work. The other students can ask the group members questions concerning their presentation. The teacher supervises the correctness of the content presented by the students and controls the presentation time so that all groups have the opportunity to present the results of their work.

Summary:

1. As a form of a summary the teacher asks the students to use the generator in the abstract to create a multiple choice question. The question should concern the issues discussed in the class. Then the students exchange their questions or solve a couple of them together. The teacher monitors if the questions and answers are correct.

2. Homework proposal:

a. During the lesson, we have discussed six selected branches of law and mentioned the legislative acts containing provisions regulating the given field. Using these legislative acts (available online, write down one provision from each field and explain why the issue covered by the provision falls within the scope of the branch of law in question.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Branches of national law

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 property and non‑property relationships, and also protects personal interests (e.g. health, honor, good name, artistic creation).

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, encompassing the relations between employers and employees, regulating the principles of operation of the employers’ and employees' organizations, the principles of concluding collective 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 punishable under the law in force at the time of its commission, unlawful, culpable and socially harmful to a degree higher than negligible) 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 fine up to 5000 zlotys or a reprimand). 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 diverse branch of law (including, among others: hunting, maritime, aviation, 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.