AMU LAW BOOKS

ADAM MICKIEWICZ UNIVERSITY LAW BOOKS

Adam Mickiewicz University Law Books is a series of books authored by members of the staff and doctoral students of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, which are published in order to inform the public about the results of their studies and research carried out in international collaboration. Owing to their innovative nature, they confirm the potential of Polish science globally, while focusing on both, the practical and the theoretical aspect of various areas and braches of law.

Jacek Wiewiorowski

The Judiciary of Diocesan Vicars in the Later Roman Empire

The study focuses on vicars of dioceses (vicarius dioeceseos) of the Later Roman Empire and their judiciary capacity, which occupied one of the principal places in their duties. It is the first attempt to present the issue in scholarly research. The book covers the period from the establishment of dioceses under Diocletian (reigning 284–305) until the final abolishment of vicariates by Justinian I (reigning 527–565) and his further modifications of imperial administration introduced at a supra-provincial level. It concerns all dioceses of the Roman empire, excluding diocese administrators with special status: comes Orientis, praefectus Augustalis and vicars residing in Rome (especially vicarius urbis Romae). The author employs historical-legal methodology, consisting in an analysis of the judicature of diocesan vicars based on legal sources, supplemented by iconographic, literary and epigraphical sources, and prosopography. He draws on the conclusions resulting from the research of sociologists, sociobiologists, and particularly evolutionary psychologists, with regard to the mechanisms which exerted influence on the evolution of the judiciary of diocesan vicars.

Tomasz Nieborak

Creation and enforcement of financial market law in the light of the economisation of law

This book raises some topical issues around the creation and enforcement of financial market law through the prism of the economisation of law. Its topicality arises from the fact that today when everyday life is becoming financialized, or in other words, when the financial sphere is gradually taking it over, the role of the legislator in shaping market relationships must be redefined. This means that the specificity of the matter regulated (i.e. the financial market) must be taken into consideration in the law-making process because this market constitutes an element of a greater whole which, apart from the financial and the economic system, consists of the social system as well. This thesis has been confirmed in recent years when the crises in financial markets have shaken the foundations of global society. Thus the legislator as an architect of the surrounding reality must take into account other factors as well, such as economic or psychological, and not just legal ones. This thesis can be found in earlier publications as well, for example in the work of Leon Petrażycki, but there has been no attempt as yet to transfer it to laws regulating the functioning of the financial market and which the behavioral concept of law would help us to understand. This concept may in the near future be regarded as a new paradigm of financial market law.

Andrzej Gadkowski

Treaty-making powers of international organizations

Monografia jest pierwszym w polskiej literaturze prawa międzynarodowego kompleksowym opracowaniem problematyki zdolności traktatowej organizacji międzynarodowych. Celem badań było określenie istoty, źródeł i specyfiki tej zdolności, która jest szczególnie ważnym atrybutem każdego podmiotu prawa międzynarodowego. Przedmiotem rozważań autora jest zarówno koncepcja kompetencji przyrodzonych organizacji międzynarodowych, jak i koncepcja kompetencji przyznanych im przez państwa w akcie konstytucyjnym. W ramach tej drugiej koncepcji, analizowana jest problematyka kompetencji traktatowych wyraźnie przyznanych, jak również problematyka kompetencji dorozumianych, dla uzasadnienia których wymagane jest przeprowadzenie skomplikowanej dedukcji opartej na różnych, nie zawsze jednoznacznych podstawach. Praktyczną stronę problematyki badawczej obrazuje analiza źródeł i zakresu zdolności traktatowej Unii Europejskiej. W pracy zaprezentowana została również problematyka zdolności traktatowej sui generis organizacji międzynarodowych oraz  niektórych organów traktatowych w dziedzinie międzynarodowego prawa środowiska, które nie są  organizacjami międzynarodowymi, ale zostały wyposażone przez państwa w określony zakres kompetencji traktatowych.

Barbara Janusz-Pohl

Definitions and typologies of acts in criminal proceedings perspective of conventionalization and formalisation

This book is a summary of many years of research into acts in proceedings. The complete account of the research results has been published in Polish as “Formalizacja i konwencjonalizacja jako instrumenty analizy czynności karnoprocesowych w prawie polskim” by the Adam Mickiewicz University Press. “Definitions and typologies…” discusses the issues of typology and definition of acts in criminal proceedings approached as formalised legally-relevant conventional acts. The monograph is underpinned by detailed methodological and theory-of-law premises, making use of the conceptions of conventional acts and constitutive rules as well as some components of the conception of performative utterances. The monograph adheres to the integrating model of law studies whereby Polish criminal procedural law is only a point of reference, while the research results are applicable to other legal systems, in particular written law ones.

Andrzej Gomułowicz

Ethical issues in taxation

This monograph covers issues of law-maker’s ethics, tax bodies’ ethics and taxpayer ethics. This problem is analysed from theoretical as well as from dogmatic point of view and is accompanied by judicature of the Constitutional Tribunal and administrative judicature. This problem is crucial as it concerns lawmaking and the application of tax law at the same time. And not only does it have economic and social implications, which are dealt mainly by those who govern and the governed, but it influences different attitudes towards the idea of tax obligation. The taxpayer’s attitude towards the idea of tax obligation is a derivative of the process of tax lawmaking, especially of the fact that the legislator abides by the axiological values, those reflected in the Constitution. Essentially, it refers to justice in a material aspect, that is the authorities’ regard to the principle of equality and universality, and to procedural justice, which relates to the law-maker’s respect of the decent legislation. This is why the structure of this monograph leads the reader from biblical to modern times. The author analyses the conditions that shape the mentality of the tax law-maker, of the authorities that apply the tax law and of the taxpayer. It was necessary to indicate the relationship between ethical and economic limits of taxation. It was indicated that the limit of taxation power lies within the right of ownership. The legal protection of the taxpayer in administrative court proceedings is a different issue. Only an independent court and an independent judge will be able to break the maxim of dura lex sed lex when a rule of law is threatened by an extreme form of legalism.

Aneta Suchoń

Legal aspects of the organisation and operation of agricultural co-operatives in Poland

This monograph is the first book in English devoted to legal aspects of the organisation and work  of agricultural cooperatives in Poland. The author rightly points to the rich history of the agricultural cooperative movement in Poland, referring, among other things, to the activities  of Stanisław Staszic at the beginning of the 19th century and  the Act of 29th October 1920 on cooperatives. The concept, activity, types of agricultural cooperatives, legal principles of their establishment (founders, statutes, contributions and shares, bodies, registration) and functioning (assets, financial matters, contracting agreements, mergers, vetting) are  presented. The deliberations focus primarily on agricultural production cooperatives, cooperative groups of agricultural producers, dairy cooperatives and farmers' cooperatives (the latter have been introduced by the Act of 4th October 2018) and have allowed the author to draw many interesting conclusions, including de lege ferenda.

Mieczysław Sprengel

Legal and socio-economics changes in New Zealand

In the modern world, there are few states in isolation. As a rule the geographic distance of these countries has in the past determined such political and economic isolation. Over the years, there has been a definite approximation of such countries to the developed economic world: Australia and New Zealand have tightened their cooperation and approached Asia. Economic integration and common security goals have led countries to change in a social and economic context, as well as in the field of legal provisions. The analysis of changes taking place in countries such as New Zealand is interesting because of the adaptation of experiences for the benefit of other countries. The publication presents this issue, referring to issues related to law, national security, regional policy, tourism development, demographic changes and economic issues in New Zealand. This allows to grasp the already existing legal and socio-economic changes, showing the size of New Zealand's achievements, its development path, at the same time outlining the future prospects.

Ryszard Kamiński

Reporting of enterprises. The main theoretical problems and legal regulations

The monograph Reporting of enterprises. The main theoretical problems and legal regulations is part of the discussion about the current state and the future of accounting and corporate reporting. There is an opinion that new directions of theoretical considerations regarding this issue should be set, especially in the context of the current experience of the functioning of the enterprise achievement reporting system. The most important facts that affect the modern face of this system include: the progressing evolution of the paradigm regarding the role of the company in the socio-economic system (more and more often the company is perceived not only as an entity whose goal is to make profits, but also as an organization that is supposed to bring benefits to society, local community, customers and the like), as well as the use of information technology in accounting records, giving almost unlimited possibilities to process huge amounts of data in a short time.

The response to these new challenges faced by enterprises was new legal regulations on an international, regional (EU) and national scale. They have been implemented in practice only recently, so they are still a new topic, making it necessary to clarify their essence and to provide further comments. This situation has become an inspiration for the preparation of this monograph, the content of which is focused on new legal regulations concerning primarily the system of reporting the company's achievements and its assessment. 

Anna Musiała

Polish labour law and the Church’s social teaching. A legal and sociological study

Socio-political doctrines are of substantial significance in the law-making process. Referring to them brings order to the process of decoding the axiology of law. In the Polish cultural sphere, which is part of Western culture, it is the social doctrine of the Catholic Church that is fundamentally important; it is essentially the co-creator of the “system of European values.” But this doctrine is particularly interesting from the point of view of labour law, because in an extremely comprehensive and entirely clear way it indicates a defined and detailed model of how employment relations develop. Therefore, bearing in mind that the social doctrine of the Church in the Polish cultural sphere has considerable importance and its contribution to the development of labour law is indisputable, we must ask how it is reflected in Polish labour law. It is a question of examining the extent to which ideas stemming from Church doctrine are present in the current form of Polish labour law. Is it at all ”attractive” for the Polish employer? One might also inquire as to its potential “attractiveness” in the future, especially in the context of attempts made at codification. The research hypothesis comes down to showing that with regard to the significance of the Church’s social doctrine in the Polish cultural context the conceptual inspirations stemming from this doctrine can be sought out in Polish law-making. This seems particularly justified in terms of labour law, owing to the fact that this doctrine presents its vision for employment relations in a very complex way. 

Agnieszka Pyrzyńska

Continuous obligation

The concept of continuous obligation, or a similar construct, is used in many legal systems. However, it is rarely the subject of general statutory regulation, or of doctrinal considerations conducted in a systematic manner. The specific nature of obligations whose structure involves the element of time is widely recognised, but as yet no uniform conception has been developed.

The monograph contains a description of continuous obligation in the Polish civil law system. Reference to views expressed on the basis of other legal systems is made only to the extent necessary for achieving the adopted research objective, namely, a description of continuous obligation from a theoretical perspective. Due to the limited scope of this publication, the analysis and considerations focus on four fundamental issues: (1) the essence of continuous obligation; (2) the possibility of distinguishing certain general types or models of continuous obligation, and then of identifying specific types of continuous obligation within the general framework; (3) the duration of continuous obligation; and (4) the termination of continuous obligation as an institution particularly suited to the expiration of a obligational relationship of a continuous nature.

This publication is an abridged and modified version of the original book published in Polish, entitled Zobowiązanie ciągłe jako konstrukcja prawna (Poznań 2017).

Łukasz Mikołaj Sokołowski

The placing of novel foods on the EU market in the light of new EU regulations

This monograph is one of the first scholarly publications on the subject of the placing of novel foods on the European Union market after 1 January 2018. Its aim is to answer the question of whether and to what extent the regulations governing the placing on the EU market of novel foods, in particular EU Regulation No 2015/2283 and its implementing regulations, protect the health and life of humans, whilst ensuring the free movement of such foods within the EU and protecting the economic interests of both consumers and food business operators. The objective was achieved by means of an analysis of the regulations in force since 1 January 2018, aimed at, in addition to maintaining a high level of protection of consumer health and life, the opening of the EU market to safe innovations in the agri-food sector. The book presents the history of innovation in the food industry in the EU, attempts to analyse the concept of ‘novel food’ and discusses the legal requirements and procedures for placing novel foods on the EU market as well as the principles of innovation responsibility. These considerations enabled the author to draw many interesting conclusions and put forward proposals de lege ferenda.

Rafał Szczepaniak, Katarzyna Kokocińska, Marcin Krzymuski

Constitutional barriers to the applicability of private law in the public sector. A comparative study with particular emphasis on Polish and German law

The underlying assumption of this book is that in the special environment that is the public sector, certain features of what we call civil law manifest themselves with particular force through contrast. An analysis of the application of civil law in the public sector is somewhat akin to an “intellectual journey to the source of the Amazon.” If one seeks a new, fresher view on civil law institutions and the civil law method of regulation, then this possible precisely through observing how they are applied in this particular environment. Observation of the application of the institutions of civil law provenance in the public sector actually prompts one to conduct a detailed analysis, which can be described as a kind of "anatomy of civil law." It involves analyzing individual civil law institutions and arrangements, discovering their nature and the fundamental elements they consist of, as well as identifying the axiological and praxeological foundations that contributed to their development. The analysis carried out in the monograph indicates multiple relationships between civil law and constitutional law. The authors hope that this monograph will contribute to clarifying the relationship between these two branches of law. 

In this monograph, the authors raise the question whether, in the light of the provisions of the current Constitution, there are barriers standing in the way of using private law in the public sector. The authors respond in the affirmative to the question formulated in this way. In their opinion, due to the specific nature of the State and other public entities, some of the institutions of civil law lose their raison d'être in the public sector, and the nature of others undergoes change to a lesser or greater extent. This phenomenon can be observed, for example, in the sphere of exercising subjective rights by public entities, in the sphere of their tort liability, in their legal capacity and freedom of contract, as well as in relation to such institutions of law as unjust enrichment. The legislator and the public bodies applying these laws, in particular the courts, should take this phenomenon into account. Otherwise, there may be violations of the standards of the democratic state of law, including the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. In conclusion, the authors consider the need for developing a sub-branch of civil law which would find its application in the public sector.

Tadeusz Gadkowski

International organization as a subject of non-contractual liability on the example of the european union and the caribbean community

The publication is devoted to the issues of non-contractual liability of two regional organizations – the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). This topic is analysed in the context of a more general reflection on the responsibility of international organizations discussed in the course of codification works carried out by the International Law Commission. Authors of individual chapters present theoretical as well as practical aspects and issues resulting from non-contractual liability, which serves to protect the rights of individuals insofar as international organizations bear the negative consequences of certain acts and behaviours attributed to their organs and officials. This topic is presented not only in the context of treaty provisions but also in light of the rich jurisprudence of judicial bodies of international organizations, and in particular the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which shaped the principles and conditions of the EU’s non-contractual liability for unlawful conduct of its institutions and officials.

Aneta Suchoń

The Legal and Economic Aspects of Associations of Agricultural Producers in Selected Countries of the World

The book is mostly of a legal character. There is, however, a part oneconomic issues that highlights the practical influence of associations ofagricultural producers, especially agricultural co-operatives, on thedevelopment of the agri-food industry. The chapters of the book have beenwritten by scientists from universities in Argentina and Europe.

Social and economic changes, globalisation, ensuring food security and safety,climate changes, environmental degradation, as well as the issues connectedwith the COVID-19 pandemic, are making the collaboration of agriculturalproducers in the world increase in importance. An agricultural farm,irrespective of its size, is a small unit on the agricultural market and it isnecessary for agricultural producers to collaborate at different stages ofagricultural activity. The issues raised in this publication focus mainly onthe legal aspects of the activity conducted by co-operatives in the agri-foodindustry, by groups and agricultural producers organisations, and by otherlegal forms of agricultural producers associations in Argentina, France,Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain, as well as in some othercountries in the world. The book also refers to EU legislation that promotescollaboration among agricultural producers.

Mieczysław Sprengel

Legal and socio-economics and political changes in Russia’s relations with China

Russia and China are not only large countries in the area but having their special place as a state in popular history. The long history of Russia and China has always been an inspiration to cultural creators and historians involved in the analysis and interpretation of sometimes difficult facts. This study, which is a research project, aims to explore and approximate contemporary Russian-Chinese relations. The fundamental question is how Russian-Chinese relations are currently shaping up and from a legal point of view (especially signed agreements and declarations), political and diplomatic, economic and technological and financial. The impact of these relations on other countries has also been taken into account in a limited way. There is also a been theory that Russian - Chinese relations are much stronger in the 21st century than in the last decade of the 20th century and depend heavily on the United States? The strengthening of these relations was particularly strengthening during the presidency of Vladimir Putin.

Łukasz D. Bartosik, Michał Urbańczyk, Damian Szlingiert

American Law and American Jurisprudence: Interpretations, Challenges, Procedures

American law and American jurisprudence remain a constant source of inspiration for theorists and philosophers of law as well as researchers of political and legal thought. Although the implementation of selected American legal solutions in European countries is oftentimes difficult (and in some cases even impossible), there is no doubt that American jurisprudence is dedicated to the aim common to the entire Euro-Atlantic legal tradition, namely the protection of individual rights and freedoms, human dignity of all persons, the rule of law and the division of political power. The monograph research goal is to show how selected ideas and institutions present within American law (e.g., the election of the president by the Electoral College, jury trials or the broad-based freedom of speech), serve the implementation of the above-mentioned Euro-Atlantic values by means other than those that are used on a European ground. Because the authors of individual chapters use the comparative method as well as an analysis of American ideas and institutions using the methodological apparatus characteristic of the continental legal theory, the monograph has a very important value: it shows American law and American jurisprudence through the prism of a researcher looking for answers to universal questions about the role of law within liberal democracies: how to guarantee the freedoms necessary for individiduals' self-realization as well as provide for security and social welfare.