Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Iuridica
At the beginning Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Iuridica presented articles of academics from Faculty of Law and Administration UŁ only. Since several years the articles are being published by all polish and foreign academics, too. Currently at the initiative of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Iuridica Editors the articles have been grouped in the thematic structure and include not only jurisprudence issues from lawyers` point of view, but also philosophers, logicians, sociologists, psychologists, economists and at the same time becoming an interdisciplinary journal.
Legal survivals: concept, theory, methodology
The present conceptual paper addresses selected issues concerning the emergent pluridisciplinary research topic on survivals—an essential part of the phenomenon of nomostasis—with particular emphasis on its theoretical underpinnings and methodological implications. It argues that the concept of a “legal survival” should be understood as a legal form (a legal institution, i.e. a set of functionally interconnected legal norms, a legal concept, a legal principle, or a legal rule) which had emerged in an earlier socio-economic, political or ideological-cultural context, and had had a specific function within that context but did not disappear despite a profound change of that context. A systemic transformation, such as the transition from feudalism to capitalism, from capitalism to state socialism, or back to capitalism, is a paradigmatic example of such a profound change of context, though not the only possible one. The paper addresses the ontology of legal survivals, drawing attention to the distinction between written law and legal practice, and formulates three tentative propositions concerning the theory of legal survivals: (1) the law of juristic inertia, which emphasises that lawyers tend to use old forms to express new content; (2) the law of functional adaptation of legal forms, which emphasises that old legal forms may be used to fulfil entirely new social functions; and (3) the law of decontextualisation of legal form, which emphasises that law oftentimes becomes entirely detached from its changing social context, even to the extent of becoming an irritant. Finally, the paper addresses the question of the methodology of studying legal survivals, arguing that it calls for a broadly inclusive pluridisciplinary approach, uniting the methods typical of legal history, comparative law, sociology of law and legal anthropology, with an overarching role for legal theory and the philosophy of law.
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Providing Personal Data in the Procedure of Preventive Examinations
The subject of the analysis is to determine the legal position of participants in proceedings to determine an employee’s ability to work. In particular, the subject of the argument is that the employer may, and even has an obligation to, provide the occupational physician with information about the employee’s health.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Significance of the Decision of the Sanitary Authority and the Judgment of the Administrative Court Regarding the Employee’s Occupational Disease in the Proceedings for Granting Social Insurance Benefits
The subject of the article is the significance of the decision of the state sanitary inspector and the judgment of the administrative court on the employee’s occupational disease in the proceedings for granting social insurance benefits due in connection with such a disease. The proceedings related to occupational diseases include two spheres. The first is the administrative proceedings conducted by the state sanitary inspector ending with the issuance of a decision on the occupational disease, with the possibility of appealing it to the administrative court. The second is the proceedings before the Social Insurance Institution in order to issue a decision establishing the right to social insurance benefits due to the employee due to the effects of the occupational disease, with the possibility of appealing it to the labour and social insurance court. Referring to the views of the literature on the subject and court decisions on the analysed topic, the author reviews the presented positions, subjecting them to critical analysis.
The Role of Trade Unions in Determining and Supervising Compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Standards
Protecting the life and health of employees, implemented through the principles of occupational health and safety, is one of the most important tasks of company trade unions. In order to enable company trade unions to carry out this task, the legislator has provided them with a number of competencies. These competencies – divided into regulatory powers and control powers – are the subject of analysis in this article. The purpose of undertaken analysis is to evaluate the adequacy of the solutions adopted by the legislator in this area and to indicate possible de lege ferenda changes aimed at strengthening the position of company trade unions organisations in this extremely important sphere.
Restrictions on Employer Access to Employee Health Data
One of the key duties of the employer is to ensure safe and hygienic working conditions for employees, which means that he must ensure that the health status of employees performing work does not adversely affect the health and lives of others. Achieving this objective therefore requires the employer to have knowledge of the employee's health status. By gaining access to information on health status, the employer simultaneously collects and processes personal data on the health of employees. However, access to the data is not unfettered and its scope is limited to strictly defined information. The purpose of this article is to determine the nature of these restrictions from the perspective of personal data protection.
prerequisites for personal data processing
A Few Comments on the Employer’s Obligations Towards an Employee Unable to Perform His Current Job or Position in the Light of the Latest International Standards of Equal Treatment Regardless of Disability in Employment
The aim of the text is to engage in the discourse on the relationship between the legal regulations, which result from the employer’s obligations towards an employee who has become unable to perform his current job (Article 231 of the Labour Code) or has lost the ability to perform his current position (Article 14 of the Act on social and vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons). It is justified to take up this issue again – on the one hand, by changing the concept of disability in the international standards of equal treatment in employment – on the other, by the case-law of the CJEU, which follows that the transfer to another workplace may also constitute an appropriate action taken in the performance of the obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to a worker with a disability. Thus, an attempt will be made to answer the question about the relationship of the latter obligation to the employer’s obligation as defined in the aforementioned regulations, and the analysis of the most important similarities and differences between them will enable the formulation of conclusions and de lege ferenda postulates.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Development on Occupational Health and Safety – A Panorama of the Phenomenon
This article presents a broad picture of the impact of artificial intelligence on occupational health and safety, taking into account both the opportunities and challenges associated with this process. On the one hand, artificial intelligence has great potential for automating processes related to monitoring and controlling occupational risks and improving working conditions. At the same time, there are numerous risks associated with the use of this technology in the work environment. The article also addresses the issue of ethics and privacy in the context of the use of AI in the work environment, as well as risk management, pointing to the need for appropriate regulation.
The Whistleblower Act and Labour Protection Issues
In the article, the author tries to justify the thesis that the Whistleblower Act should not cover the issue of reporting breaches of labor law. Justifying his position, the author presents the following arguments. First of all, the Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law does not impose such an obligation on the Member States. This is because it concerns strictly defined provisions that do not include labour law. Secondly, the Directive provides for the possibility of extending its scope to other branches of law, but this is optional. In the author’s opinion, there are already relevant regulations in Poland in this area, which have been presented in detail. Thirdly, the introduction of the whistleblower into labour law may have serious practical consequences in terms of personnel management.
Remote Work at Home as a Subject of Control by the National Labour Inspectorate
Remote work at home, due to the place of work, may raise doubts regarding the powers of the National Labour Inspectorate. The question arises whether remote work performed at home is subject to control by the Inspectorate, and if so, whether the control can be carried out at the place of work – at the employee’s home. The provisions of the Labour Code regarding remote work do not regulate this matter. In search of answers to these questions, the article analyzes the relevant regulations of international law, the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate. It leads the author to conclude that it is advisable for the legislator to confirm the right of the National Labour Inspectorate to control work performed at home, as well as to regulate the conditions for conducting such a control.
Labour Protection for Persons Taking Up Non-Work Employment for Purposes Other than Gainful Employment Using the Example of a Traineeship for Unemployed Persons and a Graduate Practices
The aim of the article is to determine to what extent the Polish legislator sees the need to guarantee the rights that constitute broadly understood labour protection to participants of traineeships for the unemployed and graduate practices who, despite not having employee status, are nevertheless in a situation of subordination to the organisers of these forms of professional activation.
Protection against Violence in the Work Environment in the Light of ILO Convention No. 190
The article concerns ILO Convention No. 190 on the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. The author analyzes the subjective and objective scope of the Convention, including the concept of violence and harassment at work adopted therein, as well as the obligation to take action in the field of prevention and legal protection of people affected by violence in the work environment. The article also explains the ILO Convention’s obligation to adopt an “inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach” to prevent violence at work and protect the worker from its consequences.
Occupational Health and Safety in Tech-Based Employment
The article discusses the impact of modern technologies on the safety of the work process. The author indicates areas in which the technology (remote communication means, artificial intelligence algorithms) may threaten workers’ broadly understood safety. The author suggests problems such as excessive workload, difficulties in effectively using the right to rest, or isolation of employees. He emphasizes the need to ensure protection for workers. From this perspective, he assesses the existing legal framework and formulates conclusions for the future (e.g., the right to disconnect). He refers to supranational standards, European Union law, and national regulations.
Selected Reflections on Polish Collective (Employment) Labor Law
The aim of this article is to assess the Polish collective labor (employment) law regulations thirty-five years after the introduction of trade union pluralism. This is a sufficiently long period to venture generalized conclusions about the functioning of this subdiscipline. In this paper, I will strive to present, sine ira et studio, that is, in an impartial and objective manner, the most significant dimensions of the normative functioning of collective labor relations in a market-based economy.
codification of Polish collective (employment) labor law
The Admissibility of Contractual Limitation of the Principle of Freedom of Work in a Negative Context
The author analyzes the concept of freedom of work and the prohibition of forced and compulsory labor, with a focus on the negative aspect of freedom of work. Negative freedom of work is associated with the concept of labor based on the institution of a contract, i.e., the obligational relationship between the employee and the employer. As demonstrated by the legal provisions analyzed in this study, negative freedom of work is not absolute and may be subject to certain limitations. The aim of the article is to explore whether these limitations can also take the form of contractual restrictions. To address this question, the author examines the principle of freedom of contract and its limitations within the framework of labor law, and attempts to identify the boundaries of the parties' autonomy of will in the context of employment relationships.
On the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Labour Code
The Labour Code has been on force for fifty years. It was based on a number of assumptions, in particular: universality of regulations, their comprehensiveness, distinctiveness of the labour law system, axiological distinctiveness, ensuring greater rule of law and justice in employment relations, arrangement of conceptual apparatus and conciseness and coherence of statutory regulations. The content of the Code and its formal and legislative side were thoroughly rebuilt as a result of political and socio-economic changes after 1989, and them as a result of Polish accession to the European Union in 2004. At the time of its entry into force in 1975 – compared to other country of so-called socialist camp – the Polish Labour Code was distinguished by its greater technical and legislative quality as well as its systemic and socio-economic adequacy. Twice unsuccessful attempts (2007, 2018) to enact a new Labour Code have been made. Despite dozens of amendments and erosion of its provisions, the Code is still in force and, moreover, in the new EU reality, it is difficult to expect that it will be replaced by new code or that it will be repealed without introducing a new code in its place.
Labour Law or Employment Law – a Voice in the Debate
For more than two decades, there has been a debate in labour law doctrine on the need for the legitimacy of “employment law” as a new field of law. The current labour law would either be replaced by employment law or become part of it. The author call in to question the rationality of singling out the postulated construction, pointing to the risks that such a process might entail. Instead, he proposes to intensify the process of equipping persons providing work outside the employment relationship with the rights enjoyed by employees.
Impact of the 9 March 2023 Amendments to the Labour Code on Employment Stability Guarantees for Employees Exercising Rights Related to Parenthood and Caring for Another Family Member
The amendment to the Labour Code of 9 March 2023 implemented two EU directives into the Polish legal order - Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU and Directive 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers. The implementation results in new entitlements related to parenthood and caring for another family member, as well as changes to the general and specific protection against termination of employment and guarantees of return to work in employee's current position. In the study, the author analyses how the amendments to the Labour Code have affected the protection of employment stability for employees exercising rights related to parenthood and caring for another family member.
special protection against termination of employment
prohibition of termination of employment
prohibition of termination of employment for exercising parental rights
obligation to allow the employee to work in his/her current employment position
Protection of Personal Data of Persons Performing Work on Digital Platforms – Selected Issues
The threats associated with the extensive use of personal data in the area of employment via digital platforms pose significant risks to the protection of the privacy of people performing work. In order to optimize the achievement of market goals, these platforms use tools in the form of automated monitoring systems and automated decision-making systems that condition the management of employment processes and work performance. The article discusses the issue of protecting the personal data of people performing work via digital platforms, and the reason for considering this area was the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2024/2831 of 23 October 2024 on the improvement of working conditions via platforms. The main research question concerns the possibility of ensuring a balance between the use of data by platforms pursuing market goals and the protection of the right to privacy of employees, the strengthening of which is one of the objectives of the directive. The data protection mechanism introduced by the directive is becoming an element of strengthening the position of platform workers in the digital economy.
The Scope of an Employee’s Informational Autonomy Regarding Data Concerning Religion
The aim of the article is to attempt to assess the scope of an employee’s informational autonomy regarding data concerning religion, taking into account the legal conditions resulting from both European law and national regulations. The author analyses the admissibility of the employer processing information on the employee’s religion as a circumstance determining the scope of the employee’s freedom to disclose the above data. He considers this issue in particular in the context of granting employees a day off to celebrate religious holidays, noting that the regulations concerning this issue do not provide the authorisation for the employer to process data on religion, and therefore do not meet the requirements specified in art. 9 par. 2 let. b of GDPR.
Pay Transparency Under Directive 2023/970 and Data Protection in EU Law
The aim of this article is to analyze the pay transparency measures introduced by Directive 2023/970 in the context of data protection law. Particular attention is given to the potential conflict between an employer’s obligations to report gender pay gaps and provide comparative salary data upon an employee’s request, and the obligations arising under data protection law. The data protection requirements established by the GDPR raise concerns regarding the potential reduction in the effectiveness of mechanisms designed to ensure pay transparency. At the same time, there are several arguments in favor of prioritizing pay transparency over data protection concerns.
Agreements Relating to the Settlement of Industrial Disputes – de Lege Lata and de Lege Ferenda Comments
The article presents the views of the doctrine and judicial case law on the legal nature of social partner agreements related to an industrial dispute. It also presents the dispute over the legal character of these agreements against a broader background of views on the legal basis for recognising the normative character of agreements other than a collective agreement that define the content of the employment relationship. Finally, the Author of the article comes to the conclusion that finding a satisfactory solution to the problems related to this dispute is not possible on the basis of the current legal provisions. As a result, the Author proposes and justifies an amendment to the relevant provisions consisting in the explicit recognition by the law that all written agreements defining working conditions and concluded by the authorised social partners are, regardless of their name, collective agreements.
collective arrangement other than an collective agreement
Due Dilligence of Enteprises Concerning Respect of Human Rights Under Directive 2024/1760
Economic activity which respects human rights and the environment is an ideal that international organizations, such as the UN and the ILO, aim to make a reality. In recent years, the issue of sustainable development has become of particular interest for the European Union. This article focuses on companies' obligations to protect human rights in the sphere of work, covered by the subject of EU Directive 2024/1760, and the consequences of non-compliance with these obligations. In particular, the catalogue of human rights in labour relations which are the subject of protection in this Directive is analysed.
Conceptualising the Continuity of Legal Systems and Cultures: International Workshop on “Legal Survivals in Central and Eastern Europe: Socio-Legal Perspectives on Public And Private Law” (Riga Graduate School of Law, Riga, 15–16 June 2024)
The paper describes the debates which took place during the International Workshop on “Legal Survivals in Central and Eastern Europe: Socio-Legal Perspectives on Public and Private Law” (Riga, 15–16 June 2024). The aim of the workshop was to share case studies of legal institutions that have survived despite a socio-economic and political transformation. In the context of Central and Eastern Europe, two transformations in each of the countries in the 20th century are most significant, namely the transition from (authoritarian) capitalism to state communism in the 1940s and the transition back from state communism to capitalism, but this time coupled with democracy and rule of law at the turn of the 1980s and the 1990s. There is certainly a need to analyse legal survivals in the context of Central and Eastern Europe and its transformations which have generally favoured a discontinuity of legal culture, therefore making any continuity in a sense paradoxical and in need of explanation.
The Characteristics and Consequences of Serial Sex Offenders’ Actions: the Example of Ukraine
Serial sexual crimes are considered highly dangerous and have lasting effects on both victims and society. As such, the importance of investigating and preventing these crimes is increasingly recognised, with particular attention given to forensic analysis and the study of the perpetrators’ modus operandi. The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of serial sexual offences, their unique features, and the consequences for both the victims and the society, based on Ukrainian experiences. The study employed methods such as analysis, generalisation, and the normative-dogmatic method. The findings indicate that serial sexual offenders can be classified based on their methods of attack into two main categories: the “stranglers” and the “butchers.” These groups differ in their approach, motivations, and the nature of the offences. The study also identified four key psychological profiles of serial sexual offenders: “Power–Calming”, “Power–Affirmation”, “Anger–Vengeance”, and “Anger–Arousal”, with each of them representing different motivations behind the crimes. Additionally, the study examined the concept of modus operandi and ritualistic elements in serial sexual crimes, which play a crucial role in understanding the criminal’s profile, motives, and behavioural patterns. The research emphasises the need for developing investigative profiles that consider factors such as location, time of the crime, weather conditions, and movement patterns of victims and perpetrators. Moreover, the study identified significant gaps in Ukraine’s legal framework regarding serial sexual offences, highlighting the need for specialised legislation. The consequences of these crimes for victims and the society are profound, underscoring the necessity for a multi-faceted approach to prevention, including education, psychological support, and enhanced cooperation between various societal sectors. The study’s findings can inform public awareness campaigns and contribute to the development of strategies to reduce the incidence of serial sexual crimes.
Profesor Teresa Wyka. Kilka słów na 50-lecie pracy naukowej
Reading the Costanzo Obligation in the Light of the Pure Theory of Law
In this article, I discuss the obligations of administrative authorities in European Union (EU) member states applying EU law from the perspective of some of the views presented by Hans Kelsen in his Pure Theory of Law. Reference is made particularly to the case of Fratelli Costanzo (Judgment of the Court of 22 June 1989, 103/88, Fratelli Costanzo SpA v Comune di Milano, ECLI:EU:C:1989:256). The judgment established a rule requiring national administrative authorities, in certain matters, to refuse the application of the provisions of national law which are incompatible with EU law (this rule is also known as the Costanzo Obligation). It is sometimes claimed, however, that administrative bodies are not expected to disregard the binding provisions of national law which are unambiguous in their content, and interpret them in a pro-EU manner, filling thus established gaps with domestic laws of their choosing. It is claimed that such interpretation may only be performed by the national judiciary but not by the administrative branch. In this article, I oppose this position, referring to the views expressed by Hans Kelsen, in three separate arguments. I present these arguments pointing out that the non-application of the principles of EU law by an administrative branch may deprive the applicant of the right to judicial protection.
Involvement of Digital Platforms in the Process of Payment of Accommodation Tax in Slovakia – Theory vs. Reality
Digitization in the field of taxation represents one of the possible ways of improving the quality and increasing the transparency of this process. We can conclude that, in Slovakia, the potential of digitization for streamlining tax processes as well as increasing taxpayers’ satisfaction is indicated. One of the elements of the tax system where such an aspect is identified is the accommodation tax, where the recent amendment of the Local Taxes Act of 2021 made digital platforms’ operators directly involved in the process of collecting and paying this tax. In this paper, the authors present partial results of their primary research aimed at a critical evaluation of the current state of the transfer of the obligation to collect accommodation tax from the accommodation provider to digital platform operators in the Slovak Republic. The authors came to the conclusion that despite the effort of the legislator to solve a specific aspect of the activity of digital platforms (in relation to the payment of accommodation tax), the amendment of the legislation did not bring about the desired change in application practice and the new legal regulation is not actually applied in practice. In our opinion, the reason for this state of affairs is, on the one hand, the ambiguous wording of the legislative text, from which the actual transfer of the tax collection obligation to the platform operators is questionable, and, on the other hand, only a minimal reduction of the administrative burden of accommodation providers when applying this new regime.
From Article 12b of the UN-MC to Article 7 of the Regulation 282/2011: Between Automaton and Minimal Human Involvement/Intervention
The current article draws a comparison between one of the necessary criteria both for the electronically-supplied services (ESS) under Article 7 of the Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 282/2011 of 15 March 2011 laying down the implementing measures for the Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax (Regulation 282/2011) as well as the automated digital services (ADS) under Article 12B of the United Nations Model Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries (UN-MC). This is “minimal human involvement/intervention.” The aim is to outline the similarities and the differences between the approaches for their design, as well as the possible challenges therewith.
The Brazilian Reform of Transfer Pricing Rules: Complying with the OECD’s Standards
The article analyses the international context that led to a broad reform of Brazilian domestic legislation on transfer pricing. The former Brazilian transfer pricing legislation (1996) lacked compliance with the comparability analysis and the arms’ length principle. The new legislation, published in 2023, adopted the Organisation’s for European Economic Cooperation (OECD) guidelines on the subject. One important issue that may arise from implementing the new rules and the comparability analysis in Brazil is the relative lack of databases on the subject.