The Organizational Spaces of Ministerial Reorganization in Poland

Author(s): Devon Lechtenberg / Language(s): Estonian Issue: 2/2015

Although government institutions are an important and well-studied part of thetransition literature on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), there has been little theorizationof the spaces of public administration in this region. This constitutes amissed opportunity for scholars of the region interested in the “spatial turn” of thesocial sciences. Tor Hernes’ (2004) concepts of the spatial characteristics of organizationscan serve as a useful tool in examining the effect of external political forceson the internal dynamics of public administration in CEE and other regional contexts.Using the recent merger of two Polish ministries in 2013 as a case study, it isshown that a number of distinct, yet overlapping and intersecting spaces werebrought to the forefront by political pressures. Incorporating spatial concerns withinthe analysis of public administration will arguably improve the understanding ofthis complex phenomenon in the context of a changing political environment.

Orbánizacja

Author(s): Waldemar Kuligowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 03/2014

In this article, the author examines the political, social and cultural consequences of Victor Orban and the Fidesz party coming to power in Hungary. The consequences of these politics is expressed in the neologism “orbanization”. Hungarian politics have been instrumentalised, and power has assumed authoritarian characteristics. This has led to the formation and implementation of a new cultural policy. Veiled authoritarianism has led to the weakening or elimination of the importance of institutions that were thus far independent of the government, such as the central bank, the judiciary and the media. A symbol of Orbán’s politics is the adoption of a new constitution. The Hungarian nation is defined in the text in historical (Saint Stefan as the mythical founder of the community), religious (the preamble begins with the invocation, “God bless the Hungarians”) and ethnic (ethnos as exclusive) terms. In this way, a very tight and homogeneous picture is formed of the subject of the Constitution, which lends legitimacy to what in literature is referred to as an “organic” or “mystical” nation. Worthy of concern is not only the strengthening of the power of Orban, but also his strong support of right-wing political groups, including those in Poland.

WIZJA UNII EUROPEJSKIEJ W KONCEPCJACH PRAWA I SPRAWIEDLIWOŚCI W ŚWIETLE TEORII MIĘDZYRZĄDOWYCH I PONADNARODOWYCH

Author(s): Artur Staszczyk / Language(s): Polish Issue: 03/2016

The paper explores the issue of the application of selected theories of European inte-gration (intergovernmental and supranational) to explain the position of the Polish Justice Law and Justice party with regard to the functioning and future of the EU. The party, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is a political formation which is actively engaged in the debate on the shape of the EU, pertaining to both its theoretical and practical policies. The ongoing debate has taken the form of battle between neo-functionalism and state-centric intergovernmental approach. The author believes that the main theory that explains the Law and Justice party’s approach to European issues is inter-governmentalism which aligns well with the concept of “Europe of Motherlands” adopted by the party. It proclaims the primacy of nation state and its interests in the process of European integration. This is tantamount to refuting the view that the EU can develop only in accordance with the neo-functionalism’s spill-over logic which will eventually lead to the formation of a European federation.

Előszó

Author(s): Andrea Szabó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2016

Politizáció vagy professzionalizáció? A politikai kormányzás jogi, intézményi és személyi feltételei 2006, 2010

Author(s): Éva Ványi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2016

Political governance is an often used expression by politicians and researchers to characterize the Hungarian governance after 2010, although it got into public discourse after the second Gyurcsány government entered into office 2006. The aim of this paper is to examine who governed within the framework of political governance during the 2nd Gyurcsány and 2nd Orbán government in Hungary. Based on Hungarian laws not only ministers but also political state secretaries are the political leaders of governments so these two levels of leaders were investigated in this paper. The main question is how the new governance style impacts the composition of governments. Were the members of governments rather generalist or specialist politicians in the two cabinets? In relation to these questions the changing legal and institutional frameworks were also analysed. The findings show that the recruitment of ministers and state secretaries did not follow the same pattern and experience in specializations is needed in the context of political governance, too.

Politika aktuelne vlade Srbije u borbi protiv korupcije

Author(s): Nemanja Nenadić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3-4/2013

The author investigates the role and results of the Government of the Republic of Serbia in fight against corruption from its inauguration in July 2012 till the end of 2013. Relying on various criteria, the author argues that the fight against corruption has occupied an important place at the level of proclaimed plans and priorities, as well as in relation to the government’s activities. In this period, the public’s expectations have increased a lot, but also erroneous steps have been undertaken and there occurred numerous dilemmas connected to the government’s successes by now and direction in which it will continue the policy of suppressing corruption.

Kontrola finansiranja političkih stranaka u Srbiji: analiza slučaja nedostatka "političke volje"

Author(s): Vladimir Mikić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3-4/2013

Adoption of the Law of Financing Political Parties in 2011 has represented an important step in the process of strengthening systemic legislation against corruption in Serbia. However, financing of political parties has still not yet been fully implemented, predominantly because of insufficient efforts on behalf of political parties, aimed at accepting legally requested duties. The author analyzes advantages presented by the positive legal framework, but further explores obstacles documented during its implementation, particularly during the election of 2012. Financial control of political parties has been made more difficult because of systemic evasion of parties to fulfill their legally confirmed tasks. Absence of efficient sanctions for the law–breakers represents one of the main problems. At the same time, the „political will” must not be legitimized as the single most important factor in the process of establishment of controlling capacities and institutional responsibility for the implementation of the law. Negative effects of the current tendency lay in the deepening of political corruption and disintegration of constitutional institutions of the country, as well as in worsening of citizens’ perception of the role of political parties and their relations with the latter.

GMINA SAMORZĄDOWA CHARSZNICA

Author(s): Marcin Paczyński / Language(s): Polish Issue: VI/2015

Local autonomy is the basis of the administration division of in Poland. Current division has been working since 1St January 1999. The country has been divided into 16 provinces, 379 administrative districts and 2479 communes. This is the communes is the basic administrative unit. This is where local, autonomous life gathers. Such a division is necessary because groups of inhabitants of particular area have the best knowledge of the problems that appear on the area. The government administration give part of the competence to the administration of communes to enable them to conduct both their own initiatives and tasks that have been given to them by higher authorities. The local initiations are financed by the communes whereas the rest of the tasks are financed by the national budget. In the communes there is an executive organ, which is represented by the monitor and legislative one represented by communes council. The communes conducts the initiatives to come across communes needs of inhabitants. To do so it can four some extra units or organization. Au important aspect is also the fact that there is a possibility to establish the collaboration with other administrative improves the quality of life in particular communes. H’s a duty of each inhabitant to represent his communes in a proper way.

System parlamentarno-gabinetowy w Królestwie Włoch przed I wojną światową

Author(s): Maciej Rakowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2014

The author discusses the functioning of the parliamentary-cabinet system in Italy before the First World War. This model of government was brought into use in the Kingdom of Sardinia, shortly after the entryinto force of the Albertine Statute (1848), and then was applied in the united monarchy in which theStatute was recognized as a Basic Law. The then Italian parliamentary system was based solely on practice,and not on the provisions of the Constitution, according to which ministers were appointed anddismissed by the monarch. Discussing the Italian parliamentary system , the author shows that the voteof censure could either take the form of an explicit resolution of the Chamber of Deputies containingdemand for resignation of the Cabinet or a vote could be implied if the reason for the resignation of thegovernment was the defeat in the parliamentary vote, for example, on the bill. The author also discussesthe tools of parliamentary oversight over the executive used in the Kingdom of Italy and views onthe political responsibility of the government presented the former Italian literature.

Problematyka finansowania partii politycznych w Polsce

Author(s): Tomasz Gąsior / Language(s): Polish Issue: 5/2013

The author deals with the issue of political party funding which is very important for the existence of constitutional democracy (the democratic state ruled by law). The functioning of political parties is, indeed, understood by legal theorists as one of the fundaments of modern democracies. The purpose of a political party is to use democratic means in order to exert infl uence on shaping state policy or exercising public authority. This may be achieved, above all, by participation of political parties in elections. The activities aimed at achievement of this goal could not be undertaken without appropriate funding. Political fi nances are considered to have a key role in shaping democratic society, as the volume of available funds determines, to a high degree, success in the race for power. The article discusses matters related to the sources wherefrom political parties may acquire funds, as well as the principles of their acquisition. The issue is governed by the Act of 27 June 1997 on Political Parties. Under this Act, the assets of a political party is derived from membership fees, donations, bequests, legacies, income from property, and from subsidies and subventions payable out of the State Budget. The author also indicates additional ways, not specified in the Act, of lawful acquisition of financial means by political parties. He also examines: the forms of acquiring the funds, places of their collection, limits for donations, as well as purposes for which the funds may be used and procedures for their use. The author concludes that in Poland the funding of political parties is subject to strict legal regulation. How the relevant provisions are observed greatly depends on legal consciousness of persons establishing political parties.

Doradztwo naukowe w pracach Sejmu

Author(s): Piotr Radziewicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 5/2013

The article briefly reviews the concept of scientific consultancy services in the work of the Sejm. Theauthor presents their organisation, legal basis for acquisition of expert reports and, generally, the rolethey play in the parliamentary decision-making process. Persons performing scientific consultancy services are answerable not only to those who employ them as experts, but also to the scientific worldand society at large. Academic or research workers are always bound by ethical standards, disregardingthe place where the consultancy is rendered. The purpose of appointment of experts is to providesupport for the decision-maker (i.e. the legislative power) in resolving problems that are of vital interest to the nation. The Sejm has to benefit from specialist knowledge as a result of complexity of modern life processes and a wide range of matters it has to address. Therefore, the participation of expertsshould ensure rationality of Sejm’s operation and minimise the risk of making wrong decisions inmatters of public interest. The author presents proposals for improvement in the current practice of consultative services rendered to the Sejm along with amendments of legal provisions in this respect.

Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-New Romanian Premier Set to Name Government

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English Issue: 07/04/2017

Mihai Tudose seen as close to powerful Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea.

Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-Class War in the Czech Cabinet

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English Issue: 05/09/2017

The socialist premier’s rivalry with the industrial mogul-cum-finance minister reaches boiling point.

System parlamentarny i jego ewolucja – próba syntezy

Author(s): Michał Bożek / Language(s): Polish Issue: XXXI/2014

Today, the most common model of government is a parliamentary system, in Polish literature usually called a cabinet-parliamentary system. However, the attempts to define this system precisely face many difficulties. It is in fact very flexible and inclusive formula of government. This is because the system is neither the result of a comprehensive political doctrine nor is it a normative product established by a decision of the constitution makers. Its individual institutions have developed in the course of the long-term evolution of the political system, first in England and then in Great Britain. Over the years, the parliamentary system began to disseminate in Europe. For decades, this model did not function on the basis of detailed constitutional regulation, but on the basis of established political habits. The fundamental change took place in the twentieth century. Constitutions adopted at that time began to recognize the rules of this model and regulate them in specific legislation. This became to be called the „rationalization of the parliamentary system”. The direct result of the phenomenon of rationalization of the parliamentary system is its large individualization. It is clearly seen in the differentiation of institutional arrangements - even with regard to the core issues - which can be found in the texts of the constitutions of states which adopted parliamentary system. Today, this political system is not universal. It has many varieties, differing one from each other in a fundamental way.

Zasada podziału władzy i zrównoważenia władz w Maroku w świetle Konstytucji z 29 lipca 2011 roku

Author(s): Ewa Popławska / Language(s): Polish Issue: XXXI/2014

Unlike the Maghreb countries stricken by the fever of the ,,Arab Spring”, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Morocco of 29 July 2011 was adopted on the initiative of the monarch, but also influenced by social pressure. Its Art. 1 p. 2 states that ,,The constitutional regime of the Kingdom is founded on the separation, the balance and the collaboration of the powers [la séparation, l’équilibre et la collaboration des pouvoirs], as well as on participatory democracy of the citizens, and the principles of good governance and on the correlation between the responsibility for and the rendering of accounts”. The way of the implementation of this principle is primarily affected by defining Morocco as a democratic,parliamentary and social constitutional monarchy, and by assigning the monarch - in addition to other fundamental political tasks - the role of the ,,supreme arbiter between the institutions”, who is watching over the observance of the Constitution and the proper functioning of constitutional institutions (Art. 42p. 1).The new political system of the Kingdom of Morocco combines the inspiration of the constitutional arrangements of the French Fifth Republic with local conditions, including a strong position of the monarch, who is the guardian of Islam, and the aspirations to modernize and socialize the state. Paraphrasing the words of Professor Andrzej Pullo, the Author states that in Morocco, as in many other countries, the separation of powers is one of those ideas that have little to do with reality, but is needed in the ideology of a new state as a constitutional determinant of its democratic character.

Z parlamentarnej problematyki dostępu do informacji

Author(s): Andrzej Szmyt / Language(s): Polish Issue: XXXI/2014

The Author discusses parliamentary issues concerning the access to information, which include two groups. On one hand the deputies’ right to access to information classified as ,,confidential” (within the meaning of the Act on the Protection of Confidential Information) in the exercise of their mandate is analyzed. On the other hand, the analysis is extended to the citizens’ constitutional right to obtain information in regard to documents concerning the work of the internal bodies of the Polish Parliament (the Presidium of the Sejm and the Council of Elders).

Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-Democracy, Kyrgyz Style

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English Issue: 07/25/2017

Front runners in the crowded field of presidential hopefuls include the prime minister and a business magnate.

Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-Moldovan Lawmakers Approve Controversial Electoral Reforms

Author(s): TOL TOL / Language(s): English Issue: 07/25/2017

Although they are poles apart on relations with Russia, both major parties back the changes.

Formalne determinanty pozycji przywódców w strukturach pozaparlamentarnych partii politycznych w Polsce

Author(s): Maciej Hartliński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 6/2015

The study is aimed at analysing the statutes of 76 political parties and constitutes an attempt at characterising the formal position of party leaders in the structures of Polish non-parliamentary parties. Formal conditions determining leadership in non-parliamentary parties may be characterised with references to a few issues. Almost all of such parties have either of two formally determined positions of the leader. This is chairman (35) and president (33). In the majority of the parties (44) the position of the leader is an independent body set apart in their organisational structure. In fewer parties, the leader is the head of a collegiate body. Classifying the hierarchy of party bodies, in the greatest number of cases the leader was not set apart (29). If it was done, the leader received the second (20) or the third (14) position. The leader almost always, as a result of the position he occupies, becomes a member of other key bodies in the party. In slightly more than half of the parties (39), the leader has an opportunity to decide about the choice of his closest collaborators thanks to the right to propose candidates to take such positions. The length of the term in office is also different in different parties, although the most common period is 4 years (31 parties). In 63 out of 71 parties the leader is chosen by the delegates of local structures during a national congress. As regards the proposed research hypothesis, non-parliamentary parties do not significantly differ from the mainstream parties. There are no considerable disproportions with reference to the applied terminology, selecting various bodies, solutions concerning terms of office, automatic election to the most important decision-making bodies, as well as methods of selecting the leaders. The only difference concerns the fact that in non-parliamentary parties the leader is often not set apart against other party bodies, which is a situation quite rare among the main political parties. As far as the distinguished indexes are concerned, there is of course some degree of variation, yet both parliamentary as well as non-parliamentary parties show similar tendencies in formal positioning of the leaders in their structures.

A kívülről korlátozott hibrid rendszer. Az Orbán-rezsim a rendszertipológia tükrében

Author(s): András Bozóki,Dániel Hegedűs / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Our study focuses on the ever-widening grey zone between democracy and dictatorship, and applies the fi ndings of the scholarship on hybrid regimes to the characteristics of the Orbán-regime. The issue of democracy and dictatorship is not an “either-or” problem; rather it is one that can be best described along a continuum. We argue that, due to its hitherto overlooked characteristics, the Orbán-regime belongs to a class of its own among hybrid regimes. The unique properties of this Hungarian hybrid regime follow from the fact that it is part of the European Union, which is made up of democratic member states. Since member states transfer parts of their sovereignty to the European Union, the EU is a site of both “domestic” and “foreign” policy-making, that is, as regime theory suggests, it is both the context in which the Hungarian government operates and an integral part of the Hungarian regime itself. Consequently, the EU functions as a “regime sustaining” and “regime constraining” factor for Hungary, which compels us to describe the current governmental structure of Hungary as an “externally constrained hybrid regime”.