Anna Młynarska-Sobaczewska – författare

This book analyses the public accountability of political actors in contemporary democratic states. Accountability as understood here is a necessary condition of democracy: delegation of power with transparency and supervision over those who are chosen to exercise the power of the state. The authors identify paths of executing accountability in the electoral process, as well as in traditional instruments of parliamentary scrutiny and other relationships between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. They track how well-known mechanisms of democracy fulfil the need to report on the exercising of an entrusted power. They also explore how new developments in the constitutional framework, that is, the post-evaluation of legislation, and beyond it in mass social movements, Big Tech companies and social media, are changing the classic and established concepts of accountable power. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policymakers working it the areas of Constitutional Law and Politics and Accountability Studies.

This book analyses the public accountability of political actors in contemporary democratic states. Accountability as understood here is a necessary condition of democracy: delegation of power with transparency and supervision over those who are chosen to exercise the power of the state. The authors identify paths of executing accountability in the electoral process, as well as in traditional instruments of parliamentary scrutiny and other relationships between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. They track how well-known mechanisms of democracy fulfil the need to report on the exercising of an entrusted power. They also explore how new developments in the constitutional framework, that is, the post-evaluation of legislation, and beyond it in mass social movements, Big Tech companies and social media, are changing the classic and established concepts of accountable power. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policymakers working it the areas of Constitutional Law and Politics and Accountability Studies.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this very useful analysis of constitutional law in Poland provides essential information on the country’s sources of constitutional law, its form of government, and its administrative structure. Lawyers who handle transnational matters will appreciate the clarifications of particular terminology and its application. Throughout the book, the treatment emphasizes the specific points at which constitutional law affects the interpretation of legal rules and procedure.

Thorough coverage by a local expert fully describes the political system, the historical background, the role of treaties, legislation, jurisprudence, and administrative regulations. The discussion of the form and structure of government outlines its legal status, the jurisdiction and workings of the central state organs, the subdivisions of the state, its decentralized authorities, and concepts of citizenship. Special issues include the legal position of aliens, foreign relations, taxing and spending powers, emergency laws, the power of the military, and the constitutional relationship between church and state. Details are presented in such a way that readers who are unfamiliar with specific terms and concepts in varying contexts will fully grasp their meaning and significance.

Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable time-saving tool for both practising and academic jurists. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Poland will welcome this guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative constitutional law.