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Country’s president is trying to stifle his opponents and the media, critics charge.
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Orban and his cabinet deny such claims, insisting the target is not Hungarian-born billionaire’s ‘ancestry or identity but what he does.’
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The right to oppose the current government is an indispensable element of the pluralist system of liberal democracy. A parliamentary opposition may function in various organisational forms. It comprises political groups and factions which do not participate in the formation of the government, adopt a critical attitude towards the programme of the executive branch, and offer alternative solutions with respect to programmes and the staffing of ministerial positions. This study of the three cases of the United Kingdom, Germany and France confirms that, besides the common attribute of representing a political orientation different from that of the current government, an opposition is distinguished by a set of specific features. Such features result from the type of a political system, political culture, the structure of a parliament, and effective procedures. In its activities, an opposition uses a collection of positive and negative measures.
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The aim of the article is to identify and describe the theoretical models of internal management inthe first (lower) chambers of modern parliaments. As a result of the analysis, the author presents twosuch models, the Anglo-Saxon model and the continental model, assuming the different cultural backgroundsand related differences in the nature of the system as a criterion for distinguishing. In bothcases, the paper makes comparison of the number of national legal solutions (constitutional, statutory,regulatory and customary) aimed at identifying their common and differing features. This approachallows us to capture certain characteristic features of each model and, in effect, formulatea signal classification concept. The paper is mostly based on the legal-comparative method.
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This paper is the next publication in the series intended to conduct wider research into the legal status of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. It aims at realizing its next phase which is an analysis of the system of Transnistria’s supreme state authorities, and is particularly devoted to Transnistria’s Parliament — the Supreme Council, which is the highest representative authority created to exercise the legislative power. The subject of the work is the origin and evolution of the Supreme Council, its composition and internal organization, the electoral procedure and status of the deputies, its functions and competencies, as well as its operation, presented on the basis of the exegesis of Transnistria’s constitutions (of 1991 and 1995) and the rules of procedure. The result of the research allows us to establish the effectiveness of the state apparatus and contributes to a more precise determination of the region’s legal status.
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Muckraking blogger says Azeri money flowed to Maltese companies linked to Maltese PM’s wife and two officials.
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Pressure from Washington and Brussels seen as crucial factor in decision that could further undermine the fragile government.
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Members of a shadowy extremist group accused of attacking the dissident say they helped pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
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Autor przedstawia najpierw kształtowanie się treści pojęć demokracji bezpośrednieji przedstawicielskiej oraz pojmowania suwerenności ludu. Demokrację przedstawicielskąokreśla sposób wyłaniania reprezentantów (prawo wyborcze), charakter mandatu przedstawicielskiego i pozycja parlamentu w systemie organów państwa. Główne formy demokracji bezpośredniej dziś to referendum i ludowa inicjatywa ustawodawcza. Szerszepojmowanie demokracji wiąże się z respektowaniem nadto standardów doktryn liberalnych (konstytucjonalizm, podział władzy, państwo prawa, pluralizm polityczny, ochronapraw i wolności jednostki, ochrona mniejszości). Standardy demokracji są także umacniane przez prawo międzynarodowe i prawo europejskie (unijne). Pojmowanie wymogówdemokracji na poziomie Unii Europejskiej ma swą specyfkę i odrębności. Zauważalny jestdefcyt demokracji.
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The principle of the division of powers expressed in Art. 10 of the Constitution of 1997,can be considered as the subject of the drafts and proposals to amend the currant Constitution. At the same time there is a vast difference between these drafts and proposals. However, among the drafts formally submitted to the parliament, there is none which would propose direct changes to Art. 10.A different situation applies to changes proposed to the constitution in force, which did not have the form of formal drafts. Some of them included amendments in matters regulated in Art. 10 of the Constitution, which generally concerned two issues - one relating to the legislature and the other one relating to the executive. As far as the legislatures concerned, the proposals provided for the resignation of bicameralism - the abolition of the Senate and return to the unicameral parliament.When it comes to the executive power, the proposals concerned the institution of the president of the Republic of Poland. Particularly, they aimed to replace the dual executive power by a monastic approach, where the executive power is exercised only by the Council of Ministers. Due to these proposals the president of the republic would not only cease to be a part of the executive power, but his political position would be outside the three traditional powers. A definitely different concept was expressed in the proposal of the United Poland published in May 2013, which expressed the political empowerment and the increase of competences of the head of state.
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The article is devoted to the analysis of the legal arrangements governing the parliamentary stage of the proceedings concerning the constitutional responsibility of the President of Italy. The President may be held to constitutional responsibility for a constitutional tort, which may be, in accordance to Art. 90 of the Italian Constitution, a high treason or violation of the Constitution. Unfortunately, the Italian constitution-maker has not clarified these concepts. Therefore, the authorized entities can determine whether the particular action or omission should be qualified as a high treason or violation of the Constitution.The right to demand the constitutional responsibility of the President is given to a group of ten deputies or the chairman of the parliamentary Giunta. The resolution of the Parliament to put the president on trial is preceded by a preliminary investigation,conducted by an appropriate committee. If the committee considers the charges against the President reasonable, it submits a report at the joint meeting of both chambers. At the meeting, there is a debate on the constitutional tort committed by the President of the Italian Republic, after which the voting is held. The proposal is adopted, when it receives the absolute majority of votes. The resolution adopted by the Parliament is an indictment against the President of the Republic.The analysis of the Italian practice shows that up to now only few attempts of initiating the proceedings leading to the constitutional responsibility of the President of the Republic have taken place.
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Depending on the types of legal norms met by the U.S. Supreme Court, its judicial activity takes the shape of creative, interpretative or constitution-making functions. In the above mentioned activity all these functions intertwine, so as the types of the norms applied by the Court do. The common feature of all these functions is that they cannot be reduced solely to the law application, but that they make that law to a vast extent. This is the biggest paradox in the Court’s work: a singular case, being decided in a typical way for such matters, becomes a basis to create a new general norm which changes law already in force. Seemingly typical judicial powers are transformed into legislative ones.On the political level the Court performs three functions: a) interpretation of the Constitution; b) mediation in political conflicts; c) legal and ideological legitimization of the activity of other state organs. So, not so much a creative law improvement but political tasks come to the fore in the Court’s activity, which to some measure goes at the cost of the governmental status of the Congress. All this, in comparison to the European constitutional tribunals, gives it a distinct governmental nature. In the Old World the material limits of constitutional exegesis are drawn by the very concept of a constitution, while in the United States the concept in question is mainly a work of the Court itself.
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The article presents selected issues related to the Second Chamber of the Uzbek parliament - the Senate. The Authors describe the origins of the Second Chamber, the manner of its choice and the legal status of a member of the Senate. Issues related to the competences, the internal organization and the work of the Chamber are also discussed in detail. The Authors also point out that the bicameral structure of the parliament adopted in Uzbekistan is not a typical solution in the post-Soviet countries of the Common wealth of Independent States. At the same time, it should be stressed that the model of bicameralism adopted in Uzbekistan is well thought out. It has no signs of randomness. The second chamber of the parliament has assigned a specific political role. From the point of view of the legislative construction the Uzbek solutions can serve as a model.
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The article is an attempt to assess the international activities of the entities of the Russian Federation from the early 90's to the present day. In the 90's of the last century, many entities of the Russian Federation took a very active part in concluding international treaties, also with other countries, incorrectly recognizing themselves as the entities of international law. The basis for this type of activities was the Federal Agreement of 1992, which defined the division of powers between the federal authorities and the authorities of the above mentioned entities. In fact, two legal acts governing the international cooperation of the entities of the Russian Federation were adopted in 1999. The first one was the federal law on the rules and procedures of the division of powers and competences between the federal authorities of the Russian Federation and the authorities of the entities. The second one was the law on the coordination of international relations and the international cooperation of the entities of the Russian Federation. The article refers to the provisions of both acts in the context of international activities of the entities of the Russian Federation. The Author quotes numerous examples of such international activities. These examples concern not only international agreements, but also the entire realm of diplomatic relations between different actors.
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Democracy today with its liberal, as predominant view, in spite of its growing goes historically behind, first of all because of its submitting to the profit. As a consequence it exist irrepressible reduction of its content through procedure. In many number of cases its social and moral elements are on the margins or annulled. There are neglected the essential questions of its goal and its sense. World political developments and manners of public life organizations are not in the sight of something common accepted, necessary growing and no avoidable historical victory of liberal democracy. However, besides all own great limitations, democracy contributed to process of disappearing or making less tyrant regimes’ presence. Because of deep and permanent crisis of neoliberal capitalism and its consequences, which have essential influence on the state of liberal democracy, possibilities of new waves of disguised or opened authority, even (neo)totalitarian system, but also radical democracy. Epochal events, firstly those with historical uncertainty, “life crisis” and global character risks – make the question opened concerning the need and real chance of democracy-liberal socialism.
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The main aim of the article is to analyze the political and constitutional acts of Iceland. Icelandic constitutionalism was developing in the shade and under the influence of Danish political achievements. Danish law belongs to the so called western circle of Nordic legal culture. In Iceland the original institutions of government, which dates back to the beginning of the thirteenth century, have developed. The annexation of Iceland by Denmark at the end of the fourteenth century tied the fate of Icelanders with this country and its legal culture until the mid-twentieth century. This caused that the development of the indigenous political institutions of Iceland, which dates back to the beginning of the tenth century, was stopped. The Authors refer to the legal acts concerning political system of Iceland in the pre constitutional period, Icelandic historical constitutions and the constitution of 1944, which is still in force. Currently, Icelanders are preparing a revision of their constitution. Original, yet unique feature of this process is that for the first time in the history of global constitutionalism Icelanders have prepared the text of a new constitution through online consultations. Such procedure of the preparation of the draft of a new constitution has been considered as the unprecedented manifestation of direct democracy.
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The article presents the changes occurring in the British party system since the end of World War II. It must be assumed that although conventionally the British party system is called a two-party system, it is constantly evolving and the phase of a genuine two-party system was a relatively short episode. It can be concluded that the party system in the UK over the past few years has changed significantly and it has never been, for a long time,the constants system. Throughout the postwar period, we can point out moments, which to some extent stigmatized the appearance of the British party scene. Until the 70's it was de facto true two-party system, where any third parties had practical significance also at the level of electoral competition. The decade of the 70's, analogically to whole Western Europe, was the decade of the frostbite of party systems, when the third parties appeared, fighting for electoral success. This did not change the basic tandem in the party system but suggested that - in the foreseeable term - some changes may take place. The 80's and 90's can be described as the undisputed dominance of the Conservatives, which was so strong that the party system could be called “pre-dominant”. At the same time, at least in the arena of electoral competition the ,,movement” begins and the system starts to oscillate in the direction of a three-party system. Of course, the deformation effect of the electoral system for a longtime blocked the three-party system by not transferring it to the level of parliamentary cabinet competition. From this point of view, the elections in 2005 were definitely a breakthrough, which openly challenged the traditional British two-party system. The elections of 6 May 2010 were the next turning point, which introduced the three-party system to the parliament and formed the ,,hung parliament”, which generated the need for a cabinet coalition and can be perceived as a definite good-bye to the old British two-party system.
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California is well known for its widespread use of direct democracy institutions, specially the initiative, which permits citizens to qualify a measure for the ballot and to vote directly on amendments to the California Constitution and state statutes without any participation of representative bodies. Statewide initiative procedure is determined by the provisions of State Constitution and state statutes. The Author identifies three steps in the process of qualifying an initiative measure for the ballot and certain subject restrictions which limit the scope of the proposed amendments and statutes, mainly the Supremacy Clause of Federal Constitution and single subject rule. He concludes that state initiative procedure in California is similar to initiative procedures in other US states, in general. The differences possible to identify are: required number of signatures, petition circulation period, signatures distribution.
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The article concerns the dilemmas of the judiciary arising under the amendments of the Act on Common Courts, which became the basis for legislative intervention of the Minister of Justice in the existence, stricture and jurisdiction of the courts. The by issuing such regulations interference with the principle of non-transfer ability of judges that conditions their independence. The National Judicial Council has challenged the constitutionality of that amendment and intends to challenge the implementing regulations as well. The Author considers the second element a bit risky and advises sticking to the appropriate order of the Tribunal ruling. The first Tribunal’s decision in that case has been highly detrimental to the judiciary. However. the problem does not seem to be solved as there are still doubts concerning this decisions. The Supreme Court addressed a question of law to the Constitutional Tribunal concerning the legality of the transfers of judges pointing out that the Tribunal has clearly stated that the ministerial acts do not affect the court system (and only a change in the court system allows the official transfer of judges).
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