The author of the paper understands the term of “excess of legal regulations” as the situation of imposition of regulations governing a specific institution of the com-mercial activities law under the Civil Code, which are fully or partially obsolete from the point of view of the needs of contemporary business trading. The term of “deficiency of legal regulations”, in turn, is to denote a complete lack of a regula-tion of a specific institution of the commercial activities law as may be desired in the domain of contemporary business trading, or the existence of such a regulation but in a form that is limited, incapable of addressing the needs and challenges of the said domain. When it comes to the legal regulations of the commercial activi-ties law, the author argues that it is hard to regard the current legal situation in Poland as successfully fulfilling the requirements of a coherent legal system and of the legis-lative technique principles that are applied therein. In the text, the author provides a detailed explanation of why commercial activities governed by the Civil Code suffer from a substantial deficiency of legal regulations in the scope in question.

The author of the paper understands the term of “excess of legal regulations” as the situation of imposition of regulations governing a specific institution of the com-mercial activities law under the Civil Code, which are fully or partially obsolete from the point of view of the needs of contemporary business trading. The term of “deficiency of legal regulations”, in turn, is to denote a complete lack of a regula-tion of a specific institution of the commercial activities law as may be desired in the domain of contemporary business trading, or the existence of such a regulation but in a form that is limited, incapable of addressing the needs and challenges of the said domain. When it comes to the legal regulations of the commercial activi-ties law, the author argues that it is hard to regard the current legal situation in Poland as successfully fulfilling the requirements of a coherent legal system and of the legis­lative technique principles that are applied therein. In the text, the author provides a detailed explanation of why commercial activities governed by the Civil Code suffer from a substantial deficiency of legal regulations in the scope in question.

The article is divided into two parts. The first part discusses a certain concept of secularism, where secularism is considered to be composite of three principles: separation of church and state, freedom of religion, and equality. Subsequently, the European Convention on Human Rights is reflected upon with that concept of secularism in mind. While it does not warrant separation of church and state, freedom of religion and equality are enshrined in it. Therefore, the Convention may be considered secularist to an extent. In the second part, three of the European Court of Human Rights landmark cases are analyzed with regard to secularism. While not much can be said about Kokkinakis v. Greece on its own, the comparison with Leyla Şahin v. Turkey and Lautsi v. Italy allows to point out that appearance of secu­larism (understood as one of its components – the principle of separation) provides the Court with a possibility to defer to the doctrine of the margin of appreciation and draw the focus away from the actual violation of the principles enshrined in the Convention. Finally, it is noted that the only appearance of the concept of secu­larism as a personal conviction in the Court’s judgment is inconclusive.

In 2018 Student Services Employee Association (Stowarzyszenie Forum Dzieka na-tów) was established. One of its aims is to get involved in a dialogue with organi-sations and institutions dealing with higher education, in particular with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as the relevant public authority. In this regard the Association proposed three amendments to the Act of Higher Education and Science in terms of administrative procedure, in particular: notice on initiation of procedure, simplified procedure and silent settlement of case, which were sub-mitted to the Ministry. As a bottom-up initiative of student services employees at HEIs, it enables them to get involved in consulting acts on higher education and proposing amendments to these regulations. This role of the Association is significant due to the fact that in many HEIs student services employees have no ability to provide feedback on the regulations that they are executing.

In 2018 Student Services Employee Association (Stowarzyszenie Forum Dzieka na-tów) was established. One of its aims is to get involved in a dialogue with organi­sations and institutions dealing with higher education, in particular with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as the relevant public authority. In this regard the Association proposed three amendments to the Act of Higher Education and Science in terms of administrative procedure, in particular: notice on initiation of procedure, simplified procedure and silent settlement of case, which were sub-mitted to the Ministry. As a bottom­up initiative of student services employees at HEIs, it enables them to get involved in consulting acts on higher education and proposing amendments to these regulations. This role of the Association is significant due to the fact that in many HEIs student services employees have no ability to provide feedback on the regulations that they are executing.

In 1942 the American military authorities interned over 120 thousand persons of Japanese ancestry in fear of sabotage on behalf of Japan. In a landmark 1944 case the Supreme Court rehabilitated Fred Korematsu but upheld constitutionality of the wartime laws leading to the internment. As transpired later, there was no evidence of the Japanese-Americans’ forming a fifth-column. The court decision was criticized as unconstitutional and driven by racism. In view of the dissenting judges and commentators it was condemned by the court of history. This article claims that the original decision was justified by the circumstances of the war, including the uncertainties it brought with it. Unless we equip the government with the power of clairvoyance, it has to be able to act, and even err, in emergency. The debate around Korematsu ignored the previous experience of both World Wars in which German fifth columns were active and effective. One such eyewitness account, not known in Western literature, is presented in the article. Modern his-tory confirms that the fifth column as such is a timeless phenomenon. The fear of hybrid wars techniques, justified or not, has led to the reemergence of the fifth column legislation in XXI century, although the range legal instruments intended to contain it is different. It is too early for judges and scholars to speak authorita-tively on behalf of the court of history, for history is still in the making.

Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount (Moriah), has been sanctified by the three biggest monotheistic religions. By Judaism – the binding of Isaac (Old Testament), King David pronouncing Jerusalem the capital of the ancient country of Israelites, and two demolished temples. By Christianity – Christ prayed in the Second Temple, and was later crucified and buried in Jerusalem. The ruins of the Second Temple be-came the site where the Muslim Al-Aqsa Mosque was built.
The contemporary conflict is marked by: the emergence of the State of Israel (1948) and the capturing of Jerusalem (1967), Russian influences exerted by the Orthodox Church and Oriental churches, the political impact of Jewish messianism combined with a mass support for evangelical fundamentalism as offered by the Republican Party in the US, the conflict between the West and Israel, focusing on Jerusalem as the tinderbox for “contemporary messiahs”.

Academics and faculty members are entangled in many interests. Selfless science for cognitive purposes is a thing of the past. There is a constant game of the power over knowledge. Apart from scientists, many entities with various interests are participants of the game. They are: politicians, officials, academic administration, research sponsors, accreditation agencies, publishers, resort scientific institutes, industry, business. The scientists themselves sometimes work for the truth and sometimes they work for profit; they create knowledge which is public property, or when they are employed commercially, e.g. by the industry, they create private knowledge. This paper presents five factors which may contribute to restricting the cognitive autonomy of the scientists.

Academics and faculty members are entangled in many interests. Selfless science for cognitive purposes is a thing of the past. There is a constant game of the power over knowledge. Apart from scientists, many entities with various interests are participants of the game. They are: politicians, officials, academic administration, research sponsors, accreditation agencies, publishers, resort scientific institutes, industry, business. The scientists themselves sometimes work for the truth and sometimes they work for profit; they create knowledge which is public property, or when they are employed commercially, e.g. by the industry, they create private knowledge. This paper presents five factors which may contribute to restricting the cognitive autonomy of the scientists.

The aim of the article is to evaluate the draft of a new Family Code developed by the Social Codification Commission for Family and Guardianship Law attached to the Children’s Rights Ombudsman with regard to the advisability and legitimacy of the changes proposed in it, as well as to analyse its selected detailed solutions in the context of their impact on the protection of the child’s welfare. The aforemen-tioned detailed issues concern, among others, the issues of parental custody and material and legal grounds for divorce. The proposed changes, namely the replace-ment of the institution of parental custody with “parental responsibility” and the introduction of a new divorce premise are perceived by the authors of the article as clearly negative.
The authors of the article are also critical of the procedure of preparation of the discussed draft. In their opinion, the applicable Family and Guardianship Code is not an anachronistic legal act and can and should continue to play the role of a basic regulator of legal and family relations in our country. The proposal to replace it with a new code is not sufficiently justified, either legally or socially, and its adoption may prove to be dangerous for the stability of the legal and family regula-tions, shaped by the latest amendments to family law and contrary to the principle of protection of the best interests of the child.

The aim of the article is to evaluate the draft of a new Family Code developed by the Social Codification Commission for Family and Guardianship Law attached to the Children’s Rights Ombudsman with regard to the advisability and legitimacy of the changes proposed in it, as well as to analyse its selected detailed solutions in the context of their impact on the protection of the child’s welfare. The aforemen tioned detailed issues concern, among others, the issues of parental custody and material and legal grounds for divorce. The proposed changes, namely the replacement of the institution of parental custody with “parental responsibility” and the introduction of a new divorce premise are perceived by the authors of the article as clearly negative.
The authors of the article are also critical of the procedure of preparation of the discussed draft. In their opinion, the applicable Family and Guardianship Code is not an anachronistic legal act and can and should continue to play the role of a basic regulator of legal and family relations in our country. The proposal to replace it with a new code is not sufficiently justified, either legally or socially, and its adoption may prove to be dangerous for the stability of the legal and family regula tions, shaped by the latest amendments to family law and contrary to the principle of protection of the best interests of the child.

The subject of this article is the analysis of reasons and results of determining as well as changing tax residence in the light of Polish personal income tax. This topic underlies a broad concept of migration, especially that of profit-driven character. The author presents this research issue on the basis of the current legislation, doctrine as well as practice of applying the law by the judiciary and the tax autho-rities. The analysis of the valid regulations of tax law leads to the conclusion that the fiscal situation of migrants is so diversified as well as complicated from the legal point of view that it raises justified practical doubts. It is assumed that tax residence is dynamic and thus may change as a result of both intended and unin-tended taxpayers’ actions which may have specific tax law effects. They are reflected not only in tax preferences but also in obligations concerning tax settlements. Apart from ordinary tax consequences of determining or changing tax residence, the author relates also to particular legal solutions such as: exit tax, taxation of foreign controlled companies or appliance of the provisions of Multilateral Convention (MLI). The described issues are significant for both theory and practice of tax law application.

The subject of this article is the analysis of reasons and results of determining as well as changing tax residence in the light of Polish personal income tax. This topic underlies a broad concept of migration, especially that of profit-driven character. The author presents this research issue on the basis of the current legislation, doctrine as well as practice of applying the law by the judiciary and the tax autho-rities. The analysis of the valid regulations of tax law leads to the conclusion that the fiscal situation of migrants is so diversified as well as complicated from the legal point of view that it raises justified practical doubts. It is assumed that tax residence is dynamic and thus may change as a result of both intended and unin-tended taxpayers’ actions which may have specific tax law effects. They are reflected not only in tax preferences but also in obligations concerning tax settlements. Apart from ordinary tax consequences of determining or changing tax residence, the author relates also to particular legal solutions such as: exit tax, taxation of foreign controlled companies or appliance of the provisions of Multilateral Convention (MLI). The described issues are significant for both theory and practice of tax law application.

A sole proprietorship is the most common form of running a business. The number of enterprises operated in Poland has been growing dynamically for over 30 years. At the same time, the population of Poland is the fastest ageing society in the EU. In the light of the above, many enterprises may soon face the problem of maintain-ing business continuity in the event of death of their owners. The article attempts to evaluate the implementation of the institution of succession management of a natural person’s enterprise into the Polish legal framework one year after new solutions were offered to Polish entrepreneurs. To this end, the way how entrepre-neurs make use of this institution has been analysed.

A sole proprietorship is the most common form of running a business. The number of enterprises operated in Poland has been growing dynamically for over 30 years. At the same time, the population of Poland is the fastest ageing society in the EU. In the light of the above, many enterprises may soon face the problem of maintaining business continuity in the event of death of their owners. The article attempts to evaluate the implementation of the institution of succession management of a natural person’s enterprise into the Polish legal framework one year after new solutions were offered to Polish entrepreneurs. To this ennd, the way how entrepreneurs make use of this institution has been analysed.

The article deals with the practice of invoking philosophers in the reasons for judgments of the Polish courts. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the case law of the common courts, administrative courts, the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Tribunal allowed for the formulation of several main conclusions. First, although judgments containing references to philosophers constitute only a small fraction of all the case law, at the same time, when measured in absolute numbers, cases of quoting philosophers are not marginal. Second, in the two last decades there has been a clear intensification in the use of philosophical references in judgments. Third, references to philosophers exercise a number of different functions falling within the clarification and persuasive purposes of
grounds of judgments. Fourth, there is no one attitude among courts and the parties towards the presence of philosophical arguments in the judicial process. The titular issue is not the further stage of the legal scholarship’s discourse on “judges as philosophers” in the likeness of Dworkin’s “Judge Hercules”. The practice of referring to philosophers by the courts is primarily an issue of the style of reasons for judgment and the role of non-legal sources in the rationalisation of judicial decisions – and not so much in the making of them. In the author’s view, the case law study reveals the utilitarian potential of philosophy for judicial argumentation.

The article deals with the practice of invoking philosophers in the reasons for judgments of the Polish courts. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the case law of the common courts, administrative courts, the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Tribunal allowed for the formulation of several main conclusions. First, although judgments containing references to philosophers constitute only a small fraction of all the case law, at the same time, when measured in absolute numbers, cases of quoting philosophers are not marginal. Second, in the two last decades there has been a clear intensification in the use of philosophical references in judgments. Third, references to philosophers exercise a number of different functions falling within the clarification and persuasive purposes of grounds of judgments. Fourth, there is no one attitude among courts and the parties towards the presence of philosophical arguments in the judicial process. The titular issue is not the further stage of the legal scholarship’s discourse on “judges as philosophers” in the likeness of Dworkin’s “Judge Hercules”. The practice of referring to philosophers by the courts is primarily an issue of the style of reasons for judgment and the role of non-legal sources in the rationalisation of judicial decisions – and not so much in the making of them. In the author’s view, the case law study reveals the utilitarian potential of philosophy for judicial argumentation.

Climate change is one of the key civilisational issues. This change is caused by greenhouse gas emission. Stopping this change requires multidirectional actions on a global scale, primarily limiting the combustion of fossil fuels. What reaches towards these needs is the proposals of the international community, which are determined in the protocol of 15 December 2015 (called the Paris Agreement). The legal framework for the strategy of implementing it in the European Union and the member states is formulated by the legislative package “Clean Energy For All Europeans”. The directions and terms of developing the economy pose particular challenges for Poland which plans to maintain
the significant role of coal in the energy industry for decades. Government documents show that the government of the Republic of Poland will not decide on the spectacular decarbonisation of the economy. It cannot be obligated to do it, either, due to the treaty conditions. However, the future of the coal energy industry seems prejudged. This results from the development directions of European economic-legal instruments which serve the direct (determining binding emission standards and environmental quality standards) and indirect (through influencing the prices of greenhouse gas emission allowances) rationing of the activity of entities from the energy sector in the environment.