Postanowienia komisarza wyborczego dotyczące jednostek samorządu terytorialnego
Decisions of the election commissioner concerning local self-government units

Summary/Abstract: Background: The subject of this article is the description of an election commissioner’s decisions relating to local government units. Under the current legal framework, there are doubts as to whether the decisions of the election commissioner are applying acts or law-making, and if that can be treated as sources of law. This issue is important both in the context of the local governments’ independence and how acts originating from the election commissioner figure within in the systematics of legal administration. Research purpose: The main goal of the article is to question the legal nature of the election commissioner’s decisions regarding local government. Methods: The article uses the formal-dogmatic method. The article analyzes the legal regulations authorizing an election commissioner to issue decisions regarding local government units contained in local government laws, the Election Code and the Local Referendum Act. The article also includes an overview of the doctrinal positions and the jurisprudence of administrative courts in this matter. Conclusions: On the basis of the considerations in the article, the following conclusions were formulated regarding the decisions of the election commissioner concerning local government units: these are mandatory public-law acts which, from the point of view of their legal nature, constitute a non-uniform category. There are decisions of the election commissioner that are the acts of applying a law of an individual and specific nature, which shows features similar to administrative acts (e.g. a decision on the expiry of the mandate of a commune head or councilor). There are also decisions of the election commissioner showing the features typical of generally binding acts of law (provisions on the creation of voting wards and constituencies). This competence of the election commissioner raises doubts from the point of view of compliance with the Constitution, which does not authorize this body to perform law-making functions.

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