Current Problems of Financial Law in Poland and in the Czech Republic Including Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author(s): Marcin Tyniewicki,Michal Kozieł / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

It should be clearly stated that current pandemic of the COVID-19 virus has significantly impacted the public finances of many countries and considerably influenced the functioning of world’s economy. Allocation of public resources to prevent, or counteract, negative effects of the pandemic has taken various forms. Regardless of the extraordinariness of this situation, the possibility to use aid instruments depends on legislative changes and, thus, on the prior passing of appropriate legal provisions, since they determine the rules based on which these instruments are implemented. Poland, and the Czech Republic, have taken proper actions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Referring to the experience of both of these countries, it should be noted that legal and financial solutions used to counteract the pandemic have not always been conducted in accordance with constitutional norms, established financial law rules, or principles of conducting financial economy in the public finance sector. The Authors of this article, while evaluating these solutions, have decided to indicate certain general trends happening in the current financial law, which, unfortunately, are not always positive.

Rethinking the Indirect Taxation of Trust in the Reform of the Italian Tax System

Author(s): Salvatore Antonello Parente / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

In Italy, among the priorities of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), a strategic position is taken by the tax reform, which is part of the actions to remedy the structural weaknesses of the country’s system and to stimulate economic recovery after the Covid-19 crisis. In this context, in order to design a new tax structure, in terms of economic growth and competitiveness, a legislative rethink of indirect taxation of trusts and other destination constraints is desirable. In fact, the current tax rules of these negotiation models, in addition to giving rise to numerous disputes, often discourage their use in regulating new interests and needs.

Electronic Signature of the Taxpayer in Times of COVID-19

Author(s): Łukasz Goździaszek / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

The aim of the article is to present the legal provisions used to identify taxpayers (and similarly other entities) using electronic communication in the times of COVID-19, in the light of the construction of public ICT systems for submitting declarations and applications. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the IT transformation, including the benefits of switching to digital tools, unless the legislator had already imposed an obligation to use electronic communication. For tax purposes, the range of possible signatures has not been limited to a qualified electronic signature, a trusted signature, a personal signature, and possibly a simple identity verification mechanism using an account in an ICT system secured only with a password. It is often used to sign the so-called “authorization data” (“tax data”). The new facilitations in the field of creating a trusted profile should translate into the popularization of the trusted signature, especially as there are more and more non-tax online services provided by public entities.

A. T. Kuru, ISLAM, AUTHORITARIANISM, AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT: A GLOBAL AND HISTORICAL COMPARISON

Author(s): Benjamin Nurkić / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 1/2021

Review of: A. T. Kuru, ISLAM, AUTHORITARIANISM, AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT: A GLOBAL AND HISTORICAL COMPARISON (Cambridge University Press, 2019.)

Zakon o obrazovanju odraslih Zeničko-dobojskog kantona

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 2/2014

Law on adult education of Zenica-Doboj Canton

Doktoranci w procesie (ciągłych) zmian – prawnych, społecznych, tożsamościowych. Analiza form i celów kształcenia doktorantów w Polsce w latach 2005–2020

Author(s): Anna Maria Kola / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2020

This article analyses the concepts of forms of doctoral education implemented in Poland over the last fifteen years, including the most recent ones, i.e., doctoral schools/colleges, which are autonomously founded by universities, according to the provisions of new Law on Higher Education and Science. The diversity of forms is superimposed on the process of differentiation of models of HEIs in Poland, as well as creating new doctoral identity and increasing mobility of doctoral students who belong to a world of young science, which can be constructed on different principles and values. The author describes both the educational models and the specificity of this social category. The article presents conclusions based on research about doctoral students in Poland and abroad and discourse on the quality of doctoral education.

Sources of tax law in the Polish legal system

Author(s): Aurelia Bajerska / Language(s): English Issue: 33 (1)/2021

In the literature, the sources of law are considered to be “a formalised act of state authority containing legal provisions”.1 In order to assess the nature of a designated act of state authority as a source of law, its form and the appropriate procedure are important. Therefore, the basic objective of the article is to demonstrate the sources of making tax law, with a particular emphasis on their classification in the tax law system. In fact, the position of particular types of sources of law in the system depends on three types of factors, such as: the position in the system of public authorities from which the source of law comes, its contents and the mode of its creation. Only a cumulative analysis of these three factors allows the prioritization of the legal acts constituting the sources of tax law. Despite notable achievements in the body of relevant literature, an attempt was made to re-analyse it in order to systematize the concepts and principles related to the subject matter in question. Furthermore, the jurisprudence was examined to emphasize that the sources of tax law also constitute a matter of argument in the judicature. Analysis of legal regulations in force and empirical methods were used as the basis for the study.

The taxpayer’s claim under the tax law relationship of a tax overpayment

Author(s): Adam Drozdek / Language(s): English Issue: 33 (1)/2021

The purpose of the research undertaken in this paper is to analyse the tax claim. It is an institution that has its source in a subjective right. As part of a tax claim, a taxable entity may assert its rights resulting from the obligation-involving tax law relationship of a tax overpayment. The institution of crediting overpayments towards tax arrears and current obligations is a special type of tax claims securing the exercise of the rights of taxable entities under the tax law relationship. The basic research method used for the purposes of the analysis undertaken in this publication is a comprehensive analysis of the normative status of the issues analysed and of selected views of legal commentators and of judicial and administrative decisions.

Annuity and life annuity contract used as a home reversion

Author(s): Katarzyna Dziewulska / Language(s): English Issue: 33 (1)/2021

Equity release services are becoming increasingly popular nowadays. They are a remedy for the financial problems of seniors who do not have enough money to support themselves and cannot count on family support. In practice, these services are provided under a sales model and the entrepreneurs offering them (mortgage funds) treat their business activities commercially as a way to increase their profits. The credit model, despite its regulation, does not work in practice. At the same time, the basis for the economic activity of these funds are the regulations governing annuity (Pl: renta) and life annuity (Pl: dożywocie) contracts – legal institutions with a maintenance function, whose aim is to help with maintenance. The importance of this function means that the debtor, as a party to annuity contracts, should not focus on making a profit, but on the material or personal support of the recipient. A discrepancy has therefore arisen between the maintenance function of annuity and life annuity and the commercial nature of the business of home reversion service providers, which distorts the essence of the former. Therefore, the legitimacy of invoking Articles 903-916 of the Civil Code to home reversion services should be questioned and the aim of this paper is to examine such legitimacy. The analysis leads to the conclusion that annuity and life annuity contracts, due to their maintenance function, are not an appropriate legal basis for a reverse mortgage. The discussion is based on the theoretical method, in particular on a causal and critical analysis.

The right to privacy and the protection of personal data: Convention 108 as a universal and timeless standard for policymakers in Europe and beyond

Author(s): Urszula Góral / Language(s): English Issue: 33 (1)/2021

It is widely recognised that the first binding legal act regarding the protection of personal data of an international nature is Convention 108, adopted on 28 January 1981. By virtue of the Convention, the Parties are required to apply in their domestic legal order the principles introduced by the Council of Europe to ensure guarantees for the fundamental human rights of all individuals with regard to the processing of personal data. This paper refers to Convention 108 as the foundation for European and international data protection laws in a number of European countries. It has influenced policies and legislation far beyond Europe’s borders. However, due to the development of ICT tools that permit establishing new data-driven business models based on data-processing systems, Convention 108 has become subject to modernisation. At the same time, intensive negotiations were conducted in the EU concerning a new data-protection package to reform the data-protection system, and many other countries around the world have introduced provisions related to the processing of personal data. This paper analyses the impact of the standards set out in Convention 108 on the decision-making process and its global dimension.

Digitalisation of ADR proceedings in consumer cases, with particular emphasis on the institutions of the Financial Ombudsman and Coordinator for Negotiations

Author(s): Łukasz Mroczyński-Szmaj / Language(s): English Issue: 33 (1)/2021

The purpose of this paper is to present changes in legislation during 2013-2017 in the area of consensual dispute resolution with the participation of consumers—in particular with regard to the emergence of electronic procedures. Various features of the analysis of law in force as well as the analysis of law as has it evolved in history are used in the implementation of this objective. The author addresses model European solutions provided under Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Regulation on consumer ODR) and presents two important institutions of consensual dispute resolution with the participation of consumers within the framework of the European ODR platform. The author concludes that the introduction of digital procedures cuts down expenses, the duration of disputes and provides a realistic option of achieving its final result; it is also stressed that this is of particular significance in the resolution of cross-border disputes within 90 days – where we encounter obstacles in the form of different national legal orders or language barriers. The author furthermore indicates that an important advantage of the ODR platform consists in the possibility of going through intuitive steps with the assistance of complaint creators, recording drafts, and checking consumer rights, which is very convenient for consumers, who are not particularly proficient in the operation of mobile devices. However, the author also notes that the various institutions involved in the out-of-court dispute resolution may differ in their legal status or possibilities of resolving a particular dispute (for example, the Financial Ombudsman and the Coordinator for negotiations cannot deliver binding arbitration decisions). By the same token, in selecting an ODR entity, it must be borne in mind that not all of them can resolve a dispute between parties in a binding manner.

Babel and its Consequences: Legal Translation and Interpreting in the Late Stage of the Habsburg Empire (1848–1918)

Author(s): Michaela Wolf / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

The area of legal interpreting and translation took shape especially in the wake of the 1848 revolutions which – over the decades to come – implied the creation of some more or less institutionalized sub-areas including sworn interpreters, the “Terminology Commission” or the “Editorial Office of the Imperial Law Gazette” (Reichsgesetzblatt). The discussion of these newly established settings will provide the basis for understanding the concurrence of the elements responsible for what I call the “construction of a Habsburg culture”.

Oddziaływanie klauzuli przeciwko unikaniu opodatkowania na indywidualne interpretacje przepisów prawa podatkowego – wnioski de lege lata i de lege ferenda

Author(s): Tomasz Stachurski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 33 (1)/2021

The purpose of writing this article is to show and assess the influence that is currently being exerted by the tax avoidance clause on individual interpretations of tax law provisions. It is an important issue, because strong interaction has been noticed between these law institutions as well as the different purposes for establishing them. The author carries out a critical analysis of this phenomenon noting that it strongly limits basic functions of individual interpretations which serve to protect taxpayers’ rights. Moreover, numerous threats are noticed and demonstrated. They are mainly related to the multiplicity of indefinite, evaluative phrases used in the regulation of the tax avoidance clause. The author analyses and interprets laws in force and examines judicial decisions of administrative courts as well as views of legal scholars and commentators. The thesis of this paper stipulates that the current form of provisions violates the constitutional principle of the protection of citizens’ trust in the state and its legislation and the principle of proportionality. Also, the article expresses an opinion that authorities now have been given too great administrative discretion in refusing to issue an individual interpretation. Therefore, the de lege ferenda conclusions are formulated intended to improve the negative consequences of the tax avoidance clause’s impact on individual interpretations.

Ogólnopolska konferencja naukowa „6. Forum Prawa Mediów Elektronicznych”, Szczecin, 6–7 października 2020 roku

Author(s): Paweł M. Nowotko / Language(s): Polish Issue: 33 (1)/2021

Wirtualna Debata Akademicka o nauczaniu zdalnym, Szczecin, 3 grudnia 2020 roku

Author(s): Paweł M. Nowotko / Language(s): Polish Issue: 33 (1)/2021

O analiză juridică a sistemului de vot: între vis şi realitate

Author(s): Teodor Manea / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 2/2021

Publishing an issue of a scientific journal dedicated to electoral procedures as a whole represents an extremely difficult mission given the great complexity of the subject and the vastness of the field. However, such an approach is necessary, especially in the context of the many legal issues that arise around the voting system. The approach was interdisciplinary, both in relation to the different branches of the legal sciences that intertwine in the organization of these important social relations, and with reference to neighboring sciences, with an emphasis on voter psychology. Thus, we discussed, among other issues, of pure electoral law, of electoral contentious, but also of elements related to the criminal law applied to the voting system, including the investigation of this type of crimes. Obviously, the topic could not be exhausted, but this volume represents an important point of support for future academic endeavors, as well as a place for practitioners to find solutions to the problems they face in their daily work.

Impactul utilizării algoritmilor şi BIG DATA asupra dreptului la alegeri libere

Author(s): Elena Lazăr / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 2/2021

This article aims to analyze the impact of technological influences of Big Data and algorithms on the right to free elections. It has become a recurring practice to target and manipulate the audience for political election campaigns through the information collected about candidates with the help of big data processing and the use of various voting applications. We thus wonder what this balance will tip towards in this context- towards ensuring the right to free elections or towards freedom of expression which includes both the freedom to impart and to receive information.

Restrângerea normativă a dreptului la vot prin necorelarea termenilor din legislaţia electorală

Author(s): Denisa Tudosie / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 2/2021

Voting in a mobile polling station, although it involves difficulties in securing the secret of the vote and high risks of fraud, is regulated both in Romania and in other EU member states, in order to facilitate the exercise of the right to vote for some citizens who cannot go to the polling station, but who still have their electoral rights. The regulations in force treat differently the situation of persons requesting to vote in this way, by granting them the right to vote at a mobile polling station for those hospitalized only if their domicile is in the same locality as the hospital, instead for the other categories of persons (persons under house arrest, members of the electoral bureaus) the condition imposed is to domicile in the same territorial administrative unit in which the hospital is located.

Votul prin corespondență. Între actualitate şi perspective legislative

Author(s): Mădălina Pascu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 2/2021

The article captures the relevant aspects of the current legislative regulation of voting by correspondence at national level by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the current legislative form both in terms of its need to adapt to the technological, demographic and social realities of Romania as well as by mirroring this voting system with other similar systems adopted by other states. Last but not least, the article examines the opportunity to supplement the sanctioning legal rules for acts related to voting by correspondence with a preventive device to avoid fraudulent forms of voting by electronic correspondence, along with several other proposals to amend the current legislation in the field in order to improve, unify and expand the sphere of accessibility of the exercise of the right to vote.

Exigențele rapoartelor organismelor de evaluare a conformității în jurisprudența Curții de Apel București și principiul transparenței în achizițiile publice

Author(s): Laura-Alexandra Farca / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 3/2021

The article is a favorable comment on a recent public procurement case law of Bucharest Court of Appeal in two judgements where the successful bidder submitted test reports issued by conformity assessment bodies. Shortly, these reports were in breach of transparency principle regarding the technical specifications included in the tender documents, as a fundamental principle of public procurement law.