Between legal regulation and ideology. Citizenship in the First Years of the Second Polish Republic (1918-1926)

The main aim of this paper is to analyze citizenship in the first years of the Second Polish Republic (1918-1926). The time between 1918 when Poland regained its independence after 123 of the “Partitions period”, and 1926 when Józef Pilsudski led a coup d’état, was in fact the only period of parliamentary democracy until 1989. Therefore, it is particularly captivating to research the debate on the concept of citizenship that took place in Poland nearly 100 years ago, during the period of transition from the peripheral lands of Austrian, German and Russian empires into a united Polish state. In the first years of its existence the reborn Polish statehood had to face many crucial problems. One of the most important among them was: how to define a “Polish citizen”? Was he supposed to be only a member of the Polish nation in the ethnic meaning? Or maybe the Polish constitution should rather include such a definition which could include everyone living within the borders of the Polish state? The question became crucial in 1922, when it occurred that nearly 1/3 of inhabitants of the reborn state were members of ethnic minorities. The paper presents the debate on citizenship which took place in Poland between 1918 and 1926. The regulations of the bill on citizenship of 1920 and the constitution of 1921 are discussed as well as the judiciary of the Supreme Court. The paper is supplemented with a brief review of statements by leading Polish statesmen and jurists

Between law in the books and law in action : counteracting speculation and usury in Poland (1918-1920)

The aim of this paper is to analyse the issue of regulations against speculation and usury in the first years of the Second Polish Republic (1918-1920). The long period of World War I resulted in a major economic shock and long-lasting condition of shortages of commodities, including the necessities of life. This situation had a terrific impact on politics and forced the Polish legislator to react. As soon as 5 December 1918 a Decree on war usury was issued. The regulation in the field of war usury identified several types of illicit acts and contained basic rules of a particular procedure which was supplementary to the common penal procedures. Due to a low level of legislation, the regulation was defective and incoherent with the system of the law. Since the previous regulation was still in force, a dissonance between law on the books and law in action occurred. Furthermore, due to provisions contained in the Decree it was not possible to eliminate the discrepancy thanks to common rules of interpretation of legal texts such as lex posterior derogat legi priori

The institution of transfereral of criminals in the term of the Polish Penal Procedure Code of 1928

The institution of transferring of criminals, which was regulated in articles 642-650 of the Polish Penal Procedure Code of 1928, was an element of the development of the Polish penal procedure in the interwar period. The Code’s regulation consisted of three elements: regulation on transferring criminals to Poland, transferring of criminals by Poland and transport of prisoners. The regulation contained in the Code were supplementary to regulations of international law and constitutional regulations. In the following paper the roots of the regulation were presented as well as it’s characteristics and the changes of the regulation which occurred during the communist period

Przeciwdziałanie lichwie wojennej w pierwszych latach II Rzeczypospolitej

Regulations against War Usury in the First Years of the Second Polish RepublicThe subject of this paper is legislation against war usury in the early interwar period. There is no wide analysis of this topic in existing legal literature. This article is multifaceted – it is based on administrative regulations as well as on penal rules. Regulation in the field of war usury consisted of several types of illegal acts and basic rules of a particular procedure which was supplementary to common penal procedures. For a more complete overview of the main problem the author presents sentences handed down in court decisions and opinions of legal scholars. During the rebirth of the Republic of Poland matters of speculation, defined as “war usury,” were one of the most controversial legal problems. Shortages of scarce goods were causing anxiety in Polish society. At the time uncontrolled trade in scarce goods could result in economic turmoil and serious social unrest. Regulations in both the decree of December 5, 1918 and in the Act of July 2, 1920 were clearly edited and thus caused few difficulties in interpretation. However, since there were three different criminal procedure systems in force in Poland at the beginning of the twenties, application of procedural regulations was frequently problematic. The most difficult problem of interpretation was directly connected to imprecision of legal terms, including the term “war usury.” Scientific analysis of the problem should lead to more accurate knowledge of the interwar Polish legal system and will be a contribution to comparative study in contemporary Polish regulations

Wpływ wojny na prawodawstwo antylichwiarskie w pierwszych latach II Rzeczypospolitej (1918-1921)

Głównym celem niniejszego artkułu jest analiza problematyki wpływu wojny na regulacje antylichwiarskie w pierwszych latach II Rzeczypospolitej (1918-1921). Cztery lata I wojny światowej skutkowały znaczącym kryzysem ekonomicznym oraz długotrwałym niedoborem licznych dóbr, w tym surowców oraz artykułów pierwszej potrzeby. Ta sytuacja stanowiła poważne zagrożenie dla odrodzonego państwa polskiego, co zmusiło polskiego prawodawcę do reakcji. Już 5 grudnia 1918 r. został wydany dekret o lichwie wojennej. Regulacje składały się z kilku typów czynów zabronionych i przepisów szczególnych w dziedzinie postępowania karnego. Głównym celem przepisów antylichwiarskich było złagodzenie negatywnych następstw braku dóbr spowodowanego wojną. Wpływ gospodarki na prawodawstwo był jeszcze bardziej widoczny w ustawie z dnia 2 lipca 1920 r. o zwalczaniu lichwy wojennej, która była najważniejszym aktem w dziedzinie przeciwdziałania lichwie w II RP, jako że obowiązywała do 1938 r.The aim of this paper is to analyse the issue of the influence of war on anti-usury legislation in the first years of the Second Polish Republic (1918-1921). The four years of World War I resulted in a major economic crisis and long-lasting shortages of numerous commodities, including raw resources and life necessities. This situation was a serious threat for the reborn Polish state therefore forced Polish legislator to react. As soon as on 5th December 1918 a decree on war usury was issued. Regulation in the field of war usury consisted of several types of illicit acts and basic rules of a particular procedure which was supplementary to common penal procedures. The main aim of the anti-usury legislation was to mitigate the negative consequences of shortages of goods caused by war. The economic impact on legislation was even more distinct in the Bill on combating war usury of the 2nd July 1920 which was the main anti-usury legislation in the interwar period as it remained in force until 1938

The XXVth Annual Forum of Young Legal Historians "Identity, Citizenship, and Legal History"

The XXV Annual Forum of Young Legal Historians was organized by three Belgian universities: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Université libre de Bruxelles, and Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles. It took place from 5th through 8th June, 2019. This years’ forum concerned identity and citizenship, what was echoed in vast majority of the conference papers. The conference consisted of nearly 90 scholars representing more than 20 states, including non-European countries. As usual, the host country’s delegation presented the largest group of young legal historians. 6 speakers were representing the University of Warsaw, 3 Jagiellonian University, and 2 the University of Gdansk. The universities of Bialystok and Lodz, had one representative each during the Forum

Regulations against war usury in the first years of the Second Polish Republic

The subject of this paper is legislation against war usury in the early interwar period. There is no wide analysis of this topic in existing legal literature. This article is multifaceted – it is based on administrative regulations as well as on penal rules. Regulation in the field of war usury consisted of several types of illegal acts and basic rules of a particular procedure which was supplementary to common penal procedures. For a more complete overview of the main problem the author presents sentences handed down in court decisions and opinions of legal scholars. During the rebirth of the Republic of Poland matters of speculation, defined as “war usury,” were one of the most controversial legal problems. Shortages of scarce goods were causing anxiety in Polish society. At the time uncontrolled trade in scarce goods could result in economic turmoil and serious social unrest. Regulations in both the decree of December 5, 1918 and in the Act of July 2, 1920 were clearly edited and thus caused few difficulties in interpretation. However, since there were three different criminal procedure systems in force in Poland at the beginning of the twenties, application of procedural regulations was frequently problematic. The most difficult problem of interpretation was directly connected to imprecision of legal terms, including the term “war usury.” Scientific analysis of the problem should lead to more accurate knowledge of the interwar Polish legal system and will be a contribution to comparative study in contemporary Polish regulations

Artykuł 58 Ordunku Górnego, czyli rzecz o początkach ubezpieczeń na Śląsku

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza natury prawnej ubezpieczeń ustanowionych przez artykuł 58 Ordunku Górnego z 1528 roku, wydanego przez Jana II Opolskiego i Jerzego Hohenzollern-Ansbach. Jeden z jego artykułów był poświęcony problematyce ubezpieczeń górników. Artykuł 58 przewidywał, że część tygodniowego wynagrodzenia będzie zabierana i składowana w skrzyni. Pieniądze te były gromadzone i wydawane na potrzeby m.in. chorych i kalekich górników. Ponadto w artykule zawarto tłumaczenie artykułu 58 oraz krótko przedstawiono literaturę odnoszącą się do Ordunku Górnego z 1528 roku