Mniejszości narodowe jako korporacyjny element wspólnoty samorządowej
Minorities as a corporate element of a local community

Summary/Abstract: The essence of the idea of modern local self-government, which has been developing since the nineteenth century, is not only the decentralization and deconcentration of exercising public powers, but primarily its corporate character. The use of the term “local community” while defining different structures of self-government by the Polish legislator not only emphasizes the corporate character of local self-government structures, but also refers to social, cultural, economic ties. These bonds can have also ethnic, national or even language nature. The establishment of local self-government, particularly municipalities where these bonds are the strongest,provides a chance and opportunity to realize the objectives based on these bonds. The members of minorities are an integral part of the local community and their values and interests in legally relevant scope become the targets of such local corporations. That is why the national, ethnic and language minorities can participate in exercising power in the area inhabited by them. They can “self-manage” and, above all, realize the goals and values associated with the maintenance of national, ethnic or linguistic identity. This reinforces their feeling of empowerment in the exercise of public power through the structures of local self-government.

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