How to understand the principle of non-splitting of shares in Polish and German company law - a tale of historical equivalence and comparative importance

The article examines the understanding of the principle of non-split-ting, showcasing the historical and comparative equivalence of the German and Polish legal systems. It concerns the non-splitting of shares in Polish and German law, as applied to the limited liability company and the non-public joint-stock company. It is aimed at conceptualizing in a comparative manner the theoretical model of non-splitting, and encompasses discussions about its nature, content, and normative bases for its binding force. Under Polish law two different understandings of the principle of non-splitting of shares are distinguished: the principle of non-splitting in the strict sense, and the principle of non-splitting in the broad sense. It is argued that German law uses the concept of prohibition of splitting, while in the Polish legal system this concept has been further developed and is to be perceived as a principle of non-splitting of shares that is to be classified as general principle of company law

Standard of protection of property rights of owners of residential premises in a democratic country – selected problems considered in the light of Polish constitutional law

The article focuses on presenting key issues revealed in the context of the standard of protection of property rights of owners of residential premises in a contemporary democratic state governed by the rule of law. The considerations presented take into account the perspective of Polish constitutional law and the guarantees of protection of ownership and other property rights as regulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997 (with particular emphasis on Article 21 and Article 64). The issue addressed in this paper of particular importance from the Polish perspective because, on the one hand, Polish constitutional law formulates relatively broad guarantees for the protection of ownership and other property rights (including those rights of owners of residential premises and tenants – as outlined in Article 21 and Article 64 of the Polish Constitution). On the other hand, there are several practical problems in Poland in this context, including a very significant systemic issue related to the lack of any systemic solutions in the regulation of the short-term rental market by the Polish legislator

The Structure of a Legal Norm System

The paper is an English translation of a part of Problemy podstawowe prawoznawstwa published originally in 1982. The text is published as a part of a section of the Adam Mickiewicz University devoted to the achievements of the Professors of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań

Access to Czech Administrative Courts – Bottlenecks in Access to Justice

The right of access to a court is subject to certain limitations. While a number of these limitations may be created deliberately, in line with the function of the administrative justice system (e.g. restrictions on review by the higher courts, others may be more or less unintended consequences of the design of the administrative justice system (or application of relevant rules or case law). The article attempts to present possible forms of these limitations and tries to outline some of the main “bottlenecks” in the access to judicial protection in the context of Czech administrative justice. These limitations can be regarded mainly as formal and informal, and their recognition can result in increasing the efficiency of the functioning of judicial protection, in particular by simplifying procedural regulation in relation to the ongoing societal and technical changes

The Status of English in the European Union after Brexit

The aims of the article are to analyse the legal status of English after Brexit and present possible scenarios for this language in the post-Brexit Union. Firstly, the article highlights the status of languages in the EU and depicts three major categories of languages in the EU: Treaty languages, official and working languages. Secondly, the article analyses two possible scenarios for retaining the official and working status of English through notifications by Ireland and Malta. Thirdly, the paper focuses on the third scenario of introducing English as a single EU official language. Finally, the article outlines the status quo of English in the EU after UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It concludes that English is likely to remain the official and working language of the EU as a result of proper notification made by either Ireland or Malta

Natural law and the rights of nature – in search of more effective environmental protection

The paper discusses innovative legal regulations that may contribute to increasing standards ofenvironmental protection. In the face of increasing nature degradation and climate change, current protection measures are insufficient. The dysfunction of the political system, international institutionalisation, and existing legal regulations, result in the strengthening of the global economy instead of increasing the extent of activities aimedattheprotection of nature. It is argued that the concept of natural law, which focuses on the protection of human rights, is not the same as the rights of nature. However, the analysis of the origins and axiological and legal assumptions of boththese concepts allows us to formulate the conclusion that both can form a common ethical perspective needed in order to protect the community of life on Earth. The aim of the considerations is to discuss the concept of the rights of nature, which are the basis for shaping the new environmental ethics. Appealing to common axioms, the idea of the rights of nature favours overcoming the limitations resulting from property law and the currently dominant economic and utilitarian factors. The paper arguesthat the environmentally-profiled rights of nature can become an ally in environmental protection

The data subject’s right to access to information under GDPR and the right of the data controller to protect its know-how

The data subject’s right to access information on data processing has a very broad meaning. Considering the latest developments in this field (mainly the CJEU ruling on Austrian posts and EDPB guidelines) one can draw the conclusion that the controller’s right to protect its confidential in-formation is limited and less valuable than the data subject’s rights. However, this may lead to unfair and unequal treatment of companies and data subjects. When looking at this right in a more systematic perspective, it seems that the model of the protection of personal data may go hand in hand with the controllers’ business interests. A different interpretation may lead to the discouragement of entrepreneurs, both EU and foreign, from conducting business in the European Union. This is not conducive to the development of the European market and certainly will not attract foreign capital

The rule of law “on the ground”. The Polish courts’ perspective

The aim of this article is to demonstrate how often and in what ways the concept of the rule of law is utilised by the Polish courts. The authors examined the case law of the Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Court, but above all, of the common courts, published after 1997 (the year in which the Constitution of the Republic of Poland entered into force) with regard to how often judges invoke the concept of the rule of law and how they explain it. The main idea was to capture certain tendencies, in an attempt to take a wider view rather than analyse individual rulings. It is a look “from above” adapted to determine if and how often courts refer to the concept of the rule of law and what changed in this regard after 2015, when the systematic and consistent destruction of the judicial system began. Analysis of the judicial decisions of the common courts, whose actions are especially important for the individual, are the focal point. It is in these courts that majority of cases are settled, as they are the closest to the citizen. Of course, the common courts do not act in isolation and so the judicial activity of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court was also examined. However, rulings of those entities are frequently subject to in-depth analysis, so the focus was placed only on examining regularities in their invoking the concept of the rule of law. Since the Constitutional Tribunal and – to a certain degree – the Supreme Court have been captured by the ruling political group, entailing that the authorities have destroyed judicial independence, it is worthwhile to concentrate on the common courts, as they could possibly be representing the last bastions of an independent justice system

The Model Family Code and the regulation of Polish Family Law

The paper presents the comparison between the principles of Model Family Code and the regulations Polish family Law. The main questions are connected with the sources of Family Law, the recognition of the clause on “a child’s welfare”, the scope of State’s protection of families and family life and the influence of the European Court of Human Rights’ jurisprudence. In addition, the analyse takes into account the definitions of marriage, concubinage and partnership in connection with the protection of privacy and family life. On the area of divorce regulation the main analyse are connected with the alternative dispute resolution (ADR), parental authority, joint custody and contacts with common child, and financial consequences of dissolution of marriage. At last are analysed the descent of a child, alimentation, adoption the new institution of child’s advocate

Why the generative AI models do not like the right to be forgotten: a study of proportionality of identified limitations

The article explores the limitation of one of the privacy and data protection rights when using generative AI models. The identified limitation is assessed from the perspective of the ‘essence’ of the right to the protection of personal data. With the further aim of assessing the limitation, the author explores whether the right to be forgotten (RTBF) is relevant or effective in an AI/machine learning context. These considerations are focused on the technical problems encountered when applying the strict interpretation of the RTBF. In particular, the antagonism between, on the one hand, the values of privacy and data protection rights, and on the other, the technical capabilities of the producer of the generative AI models, is further analysed in this context. As the conclusion emphasizes that the RTBF cannot be practicably or effectively exercised in the machine learning models, further considerations of this exposed limitation are presented. The proportionality principle, as an instrument that supports the proper application if there is any limitation of the conflicting rights, has been utilized to depict the qualitative approach. The integration of this principle supports the conclusion by identifying a more efficient way to address some regulatory issues. Hence, the conclusion of the article presents some suggested solutions as to the interpretation of this right in the light of this new technological advancement. Ultimately, the paper aims to address the legal conundrum of how to balance the conflict between the interest of innovative use of the data (the data producer’s right) and privacy and data protection rights