Dawid Bunikowski

The constitutional crisis in Poland, Schmittian questions and Kaczyński’s political and legal philosophy

ABSTRACT Between 2007 and 2015, the ruling party of Poland was the pro-European, liberal-conservative and strict fiscal policy-oriented Civic Platform. In 2015, Civic Platform lost in both the presidential elections (10 May) and the parliamentary elections (25 October). The winner was the conservative-nationalistic and EU-sceptical ‘Law and Justice’ party (PiS) led by Jarosław Kaczyński. A constitutional crisis began when the newly elected parliament changed the five members of the constitutional court, and the crisis deepened as a result of many new reforms, dividing the nation. This paper argues that this division of the citizens has a Schmittian nature. The aim of the article is to analyse the recent constitutional crisis in Poland, focusing on the Schmittian debate that has appeared in the academic, intellectual and judicial discussions and seeking to understand the political and legal philosophy behind the actions of Kaczyński. The paper considers three main questions: (1) What happened between 2015 and 2017? (2) What are the Schmittian questions in the debate about the rule of law? (3) How is Kaczyński’s political philosophy formulated? The language of the debates is at times brutal. This, but not only this, reminds the reader of Schmitt’s friend–enemy division. Moreover, Kaczyński’s political power reminds us of the power of Schmitt’s sovereign.

Arguments from Cultural Ecology and Legal Pluralism for Recognising Indigenous Customary Law in the Arctic

The topic of this book concerns protection of sacred sites in the Arctic. To recognise indigenous customary law means to support indigenous customary protection of such sacred sites. It also implies safeguarding cultural heritage in the Arctic. Both legal pluralism and cultural ecology help us understand indigenous customary laws in the Arctic and why we should recognise them. The aim of this chapter is to explain the relations between cultural ecology and legal pluralism in making a case for the recognition of indigenous customary law in the Arctic. It is not about human rights or international public law. It does not deal with any substantial law. However, the implications of the ideas presented here concern constitutional law, cultural autonomy, political autonomy, international law, and the concept of sovereignty. The ideas refer also to the problem of ethos as the basis of every law and society.

THE DECENTRALIZATION METHOD AS A TOOL TO IMPLEMENT SOCIAL INITIATIVES OF CITIZENS IN MULTINATIONAL STATES

In this article the decentralization process and decentralization method are reviewed. Decentralization is the process of redistributing or dispersing functions, powers, people or things away from a central location or authority. While centralization, especially in the governmental sphere, is widely studied and practiced, there is no common definition or understanding of decentralization. The meaning of decentralization may vary in part because of the different ways in which it is applied. In this article the concepts of decentralization are researched. Decentralization in any area is a response to the problems of centralized systems. Decentralization in government, the topic most studied, has been viewed as a solution to problems such as economic decline, government inability to fund services and the general decline in performance of overloaded services, the demands of minorities for a greater say in local governance, the general weakening legitimacy of the public sector, and global and international pressure on countries with inefficient, undemocratic, overly centralized systems. The authors also research the issues of personal federalism and the subsidiarity principle.