The article explores the outcomes of the judicial reform in Poland after 2015, which diminished judicial independence; and it has also been counter-productive in terms of the proclaimed need of judicial accountability. The changes made to how judges are appointed, disciplinary procedure and the management of the courts are discussed from this perspective, observing the capacity to give an account of the power entrusted to judges. The aim of the study is to show that the reforms introduced under the banner of increasing judicial accountability have made that accountability synonymous with the judges being held politically dependent, which is quite the opposite of accounting for the power entrusted. The research methods used in the text are the dogmatic method and case study.

Public administration undergoes constant changes in its basic forms of functioning and ongoing organisational structures. The introduced changes result from the necessity of adjusting to changes of scene and realized reforms of regime, which, next to changes in the public administration, concern the whole structure of a given state. The most important regime changes which are also connected with the structure of the public administration include changes in the territorial division of that state. The changes in this area result from social, economic and demographic changes, they are also very often dictated by a change in the legislator’s vision regarding the holistic system of managing public matters and the performance of public tasks. Nowadays, these traditional criteria are overlapped with dependencies resulting from computerisation processes that influence the application of administrative and legal regulations and the forms of the performance of public tasks.
The processes also concern the forms of contact and information flow between citizens and public entities. The management of a high level of computerisation in the area of administration processes, as observed in Estonia, allows for making the organisational structures of the state and public administration real while preserving, or even enhancing, the standards of the availability of public provisions and the performance of public tasks.

This text is a contribution to the discussion on the state of legal education in Poland. The author refers, in particular, to the article by A. Czarnota, M. Paździora and M. Stambulski regarding a hidden program in legal education, describes the existing situation and proposes changes that should be introduced in legal studies and teaching methods for future lawyers. On selected examples, she shows how one can oppose the domination of dataism in university teaching at law faculties in
Poland and at the same time educate competent lawyers and conscious citizens.

Recent years in Poland have been marked by a heated discussion on the system of education in place. A significant contribution to the discussion was the 2018 Law on Higher Education and Science Act, redefining the current operating model of higher education institutions. Tertiary education and the way it is organised are set in a global environment with an indefinite number of stakeholders. The turbulent nature and changeability of this environment has surfaced even more strongly in the light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. All this requires looking at the design of curricula and the delivery of the process of education from a broader angle, identifying the internal and the external stakeholders and determining their expectations as well as the capabilities to affect higher education institutions and the very process of education. The article points to the area of research made in the said domain, offering a description of the current state of affairs.

The purpose of the article is to discuss the new regulation provided in Art. 189d item 4 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, i.e. the impact of the circumstances of the offender’s contribution to the occurrence of administrative tort on the administrative penalty. First, after conducting an analysis, I come into a conclusion that the said contribution does not affect the very fact of being held liable, but is taken consideration only at the stage of determining the amount of penalty. This proves that its application is limited. Then, I proceed with a critical analysis of the existing limitation, referring to the fundamental principles that should be taken into account in the process of law enforcement, which involves also imposing sanctions and determining the role of administrative financial penalties.

AAktualne programy studiów prawniczych w Polsce mają wciąż charakter „analogowy”, nauczyciele akademiccy w dużej części są nadal „analogowi”, a studenci i aplikanci zamieszkują inny świat: to „digitalni (cyfrowi) tubylcy”, inaczej mówiąc to homo zappiens, czyli „nieustannie klikający”. Z drugiej strony programy są przesycone prawie wyłącznie dogmatyką prawa, a rynek potrzebuje absolwentów prawa do gospodarki, także z wiedzą o zasadach działania rynku, biznesu i przedsiębiorstw, w tym ze specjalnymi miękkimi kompetencjami, zupełnie innymi niż wymagane są od wieków w sądach. Autorka przedstawia argumenty na rzecz koniecznej reformy studiów prawniczych w związku z powyższymi zjawiskami.

Niniejszy tekst jest głosem w dyskusji nad reformą szkolnictwa wyższego w Polsce. Na wybranych przykładach pokazuje on, że planowane zmiany opierają się na kilku fundamentalnych mitach odpowiadających za nieefektywność wcześniejszych prób naprawy uniwersytetu. Jednocześnie stara się pokazać, dlaczego należy odrzucić przekonanie, że reformę szkolnictwa wyższego można przeprowadzić szybko, bez wielkich nakładów finansowych, i że rezultaty wprowadzanych zmian mogą być natychmiastowe. W tekście prowadzona jest także krytyka poglądu zakładającego, że pożądane zmiany można osiągnąć wyłącznie poprzez reformę prawa i że da się wprost zastosować w warunkach polskich rozwiązania działające w innych państwach. Prowadzone rozważania przeciwstawiają się stanowisku, zgodnie z którym istnieją jakieś idealne modele kształcenia i prowadzenia badań, których wdrożenie umożliwia „wyhodowanie” idealnego uczonego. Argumentując, że kształcenie i sukces naukowy zawsze będą wypadkową wielu zmiennych, krytycznej analizie poddano również wybrane rozwiązania wprowadzane w prawie o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce.