The aim of the study is to reveal the connections and inspirations between Roman and contemporary regulations of warranty, as an element of European heritage. The material for the study consists of Justinian’s “Digest”, Gellius’and Cato’s works, contemporary Polish warranty legislation –the Civil Code, its amendments and executive acts. Juridical, medical and philosophical views of ancient Roman lawyers on animal health in the mentioned material were examined and analyzed. The views of the ancient Romans reflected in Polish civil law were pointed out. Studies have been carried out, comparing the ideas that provide the background for legal norms of warranty. It has been proved how different defining of health and disease in veterinary medicine can affect divergent legal regulations in relation to animals sold. The functionality criterion was affirmed to be applicable not only as one of warranty premises, but also as a motor for legal development.

The Concept of the State and the Ruler in the Political Thought of Paul Orosius

In this article, the author tries to present Paul Orosius’s political doctrine, taking its connection with the tradition of imperial theology of Eusebius of Caesarea and the philosophy of Augustine of Hippo as references. The main source material is the historiographic study of Orosius from the beginning of the 5th century – Seven Books of History Against the Pagans. The considerations focus on the interpretation of four key themes: the Roman Empire, monotheism, peace, and Christianity. Orosius shares the prevalent belief of Christian writers of the late antiquity, that God gives special protection to the Roman Empire. He emphasizes the importance of the peace that prevailed in the time of Augustus, and gives theological and political interpretation of the temporal coincidence of Octavian’s reign and Christ’s birth. On the basis of proper interpretation of symbolic historical events, Orosius built a kind of political ecclesiology. This doctrine advanced the principal that the Roman state and the Church were united by a common mission to promote the Christian faith. At the same time, in Book Seven, Orosius confronts an attempt at the historiosophical interpretation of barbarian invasions that threatened the prosperity of the empire. Based on factual material, he relativizes the relationship between the Roman Empire and Christianity. The state appears as a subsidiary power to the Church’s evangelizing mission, which concept is also reflected in the ethos of the good ruler proposed by Orosius.

The Image of a Judge as Illustrated in Works of Polish Poets and Political Writers in the 16th–17th Centuries

Since judges played a significant role in a justice system founded upon customary law and court praxis, it comes as no surprise that their conduct was widely commented on in 16th and 17th century Poland. The purpose of this article is to introduce a literary image of judges and their profession during a given period of time. In poetry and political works one could find either positive or negative impressions of an old-Polish judicial officer. The former was rather infrequent and usually performed the function of literary speculum of the profession, in which impartiality and fairness were emphasized the most. The latter was ubiquitous. Judges were repeatedly condemned for their favouritism and partisanship (especially towards moneyed or powerful interests), as well as their susceptibility to both bribery and undue leniency. No wonder the aphorism spread: “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through”. Unfortunately, the authors hardly ever provided readers with concrete remedies, but demanded most importantly improvement in virtue. The coexistence of the two different images of judges proves that the society of that time craved esteemed and highly regarded judicial officers, who, above all, were expected to be impartial and objective.

* Praca naukowa finansowana ze środków budżetowych na naukę w latach 2014–2020 jako projekt badawczy w ramach programu „Diamentowy Grant”.

Earliest Days of Polish Criminology. From the Pre-Positivist Era to the Mature Positivist Era

The publication of Cesare Lombroso’s The Criminal Man in 1876 is generally considered the birth of criminology. The new science did not emerge all of a sudden but resulted from a longer process. Various attempts, feasible for the scientific method at successive stages of its development, were made to explain the reasons for criminality before the arrival of the era of positivism and contemporary science, and the construction of Lombroso’s theory of the born criminal. Franz Joseph Gall proposed the theory of phrenology, claiming that the shape of the brain is decisive for criminal tendencies. Philippe Pinel perceived the cause of crime in “mania without delirium”, and James C. Prichard in “moral insanity”. The developing social sciences and the positivist physicalism governing them made it possible to handle the statistical aspects of the phenomenon (A.M. Guerry, A. Quetelet). Such novel scientific information reached Poland mostly through physicians, yet was hardly interesting for lawyers brought up on the foundations of the classical school. In criminal law, they a priori rejected determinism together with the achievements of contemporary science. The first of the Polish lawyers to support the concept of determinism in human and social behaviours was professor of criminal law Józef MichałRosenblatt. He also realised that the new discipline of criminology, distinct from criminal law, was being born. In 1888 Ludwik Krzywicki, a social philosopher, teacher, and sociologist could have been the first to use the term “kryminologia”in Poland. He also challenged Lombroso’s theory, criticising it from Marxist and sociological positions. However, one of the most fascinating Polish criminologists of the late 19th century was professor of forensic medicine Leon Wachholz.

Unequal Opportunities Facing Equal Law The Struggle for the Common Rights of the Inhabitants of Galicia Based on the Examples of the Villages of Bratkówka and Odrzykoń in the 19th Century

The basic issue of the article concerns the peasants’problems with respect to common rights of forest and pasturage (which in Austria was called Servituten). The issue has never been adequately researched, but rather has only been described in a general or fragmentary way. The examples of the villages of Odrzykońand Bratkówka (which belonged to one estate at the time), illustrate the peasants’struggles over issues such as rights to wood, forest litter, and grazing of their cattle on the noblemen’s estates. In a chronological structure the article presents the most important events that influenced the functioning, evolution, and attempts of peasants to gain confirmation of these rights. It also contains information about the process of regulation their laws in the second half of the 19th century. Therefore, the main issue of the article regards the question of the inequality of the peasant’s chances despite the law’s theoretical equality.

 * Praca powstała w wyniku realizacji projektu badawczego „Konflikty o serwituty w Galicji w drugiej połowie XIX wieku. Proces wykupu i regulacji służebności na terenie Galicji Środkowej” w ramach konkursu SONATINA 1 o nr 2017/24/C/HS3/00129 finansowanego ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki.

Appointment of Lay Judges to the Courts of Peace and the District Court in Łódź in the First Years of Interwar Poland

On July 18, 1917, the Provisional Council of State approved “Temporary Provisions on the Organization of the Judiciary in the Kingdom of Poland”. These regulations granted the organization and functioning of the courts in the area of the newly created Kingdom of Poland, and was therefore binding in Łódź. It specified, inter alia, the rules for appointing lay judges to the courts of peace and regional courts. In Łódź, the implementation of the rules met numerous problems, related for example to the increase in the number of cases that were to be resolved with the participation of lay judges. There was also a problem with the initially low salary received by lay judges and the time needed by the City Council of Łódźto select candidates.

A Presentation of the Edition of the Oldest Castle Court Records of Cracow in the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences