Rządy prawa a gospodarka: uwagi socjologa prawa
Rule of law and the economy. Reflections of a sociologist of law

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze the realization of the rule of law principle and the functioning of the informal market economy framework in Poland. The starting point for this analysis is Max Weber’s thesis on the importance of the rule of law for economic success. In the context of Poland’s deep political systemic transformation, this thesis forms the foundation for a critical analysis of the creation, application, and actual functioning of law in economic relations, as broadly understood. In the first part of the paper I discuss and critically analyze the classic thesis – broadly accepted in sociology – regarding the interrelationship between law and an effective economy. In the second and the third parts of the paper, I analyze the matter of law’s creation, application, and observance against the backdrop of a market economy emerging from the ruins of a central, state command economy. The analysis herein is based on empirical data from research conducted under my supervision. Next follows a brief review of the crucial issues concerning the relationship between state agencies and economic actors. The final part of this paper investigates contemporary criticism of the formalistic rule of law principle with regard to the social and economic transformations in Central Eastern Europe. I refer to ideas which were key to these transformations, and propose a rule of law concept which would consider the sociological aspects of law’s creation and application.

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