Problematyka prawna pojęcia obszaru wiejskiego
Legal Issue of the Definition of the Rural Area

Summary/Abstract: In Polish law there is no legal definition of the rural area, but is it a mistake of Polish legislator who did not introduce this term? However, legislature of the European Union also did not define this term but there is a lot of legal acts which use this concept without defining this content. The concept of rural area is determined by economic, social, demographic, and cultural development. It is obvious that the rural area in recent years is still evolving. The concept of mono-functional development of the rural area has been transformed into the concept of multifunctional development. Multi-functional development of rural areas on the one hand, the development of non-agricultural activities and restructuring of agriculture on the other. The concept of the rural area in the old and new agricultural policy is determined by three factors: social structure, spatial structure and production structure. The new agricultural policy is also a question of financing widely understood agriculture from the Rural Development Programmes. Through these programs, the definition of the rural area is modified, depending on the specific actions for which European Union funding is granted. No single definition of the rural area in the Polish legal system should be viewed as negative for the Polish legislator. The search criteria for separating the rural area should be based on flexible and diversified grounds, among others, location of the rural area in the country, development of rural space, depending on the environment and whether related to the quality of the local community.

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