Chair of the Theory and Philosophy of Law

Fields of research

• theory of application and interpretation of law,
• legal axiology, general clauses,
• theory of state and politics,
• theory of law making and of legislation,
• legal mediations and negotiations,
• legal professions and legal education,
• human rights (Council of Europe and European Union orders),
• comparative law studies (in particular: Anglo-Saxon and Far East legal cultures),
• theoretical problems relating to European Union law.

Courses
(on all studies at the Faculty of Law and Administration of UMCS)

Basic Courses:

• Theory and Philosophy of law,
• Outline of Theory and Philosophy of Law,
• Logic for Lawyers,
• Introduction to Legal Sciences,
• Foundations of Law,
• Science of State and Law.

Elective Courses:

• Theory of State,
• Science of State and Politics,
• Science of Legislation,
• Legislative Technics,
• European System of Human Rights,
• System of the Human Rights,
• Comparative Legal Orders and Cultures,
• Japanese Law,
• Negotiations and Mediations,
• Mediations in Economics,
• Economic Analysis of Law,
• Professional Ethics and the Public Service Functionaries,
• Legal Professions,
• University Student Legal Clinic,
• European Convention on Human Rights – Polish Cases (in English),
• Mediations in Polish Legal System (in English),
• Legal Professions in Poland (in English).

Lectures at doctoral studies:

• Methodology of Legal Sciences,
• Theory of Normative Act,
• Principles of Legal Interpretation,
• Axiology of the Application of Law.

The Chair of Theory of State and Law, being the predecessor of the present Chair of the Theory and Philosophy of Law, has been created in 1950. In 1966 the Department of History of Political and Legal Doctrines emerged from it, but in early 1973 the two Departments merged again to form the Department of Theory of State and Law and History of Political and Legal Doctrines as part of the Institute of History and Theory of State and Law. In 1983 the Department was divided once again, giving rise to Department of Theory of State and Law, Department of History of Political and Legal Doctrines, and Department of Sociology of Law. All these Departments remained units of the Institute of History and Theory of State and Law. The Department of the Theory of State and Law became in 2003 the Chair of Theory of State and Law, changing its name to the Chair of Theory and Philosophy of Law in 2005.

Professor Grzegorz Leopold Seidler was the initiator of the Chair, being its Head between 1950 and 1969 as well as from 1972 to 1983, until retirement. When Prof. G.L. Seidler held the post of Director of the Institute of Polish Culture in London (1969-1972) the Chair and then Department was headed by Professor Henryk Groszyk, who assumed this function again at the Department of Theory of State and Law in 1983 and held the office until his retirement in 1997. Since 1997 the Department and then the Chair has been headed by Professor Leszek Leszczyński.

Over the years the following legal scholars worked at the Chair and Department: Katarzyna Górna, Stanisław Żarnowski, Roman Szporluk, Józef Piątowski, Paweł Czartoryski, Leszek Kasprzyk, Jan Malarczyk, Ryszard Mitaszko, Antoni Pieniążek, Roman Tokarczyk, Maria Smołka, Lech Dubel, Zbigniew Zieliński, Krzysztof Winkler, Piotr Tefelski, Robert Kośmiej, Piotr Sendecki, Artur Piotrowski, Janusz Polanowski, Anna Kalisz and Piotr Pęcak, while Zofia Stojakowska, Joanna Burzyńska, Halina Franaszczyk and Ewa Lisowska were members of the administrative and library staff.

In the last 15 years more than 20 Ph.D. dissertations have been prepared in the Chair. To their authors belong: Piotr Bednarczyk, Magdalena Bentkowska, Wojciech Dziedziak, Maksym Ferenc, Anna Gądek, Lesław Grzonka, Jarosław Harczuk, Anna Kalisz, Jakub Kęska, Andrij Kosyło, Artur Kotowski, Przemysław Krawczyk, Bartosz Liżewski, Kinga Machowicz, Grzegorz Maroń, Ewelina Mitręga, Magdalena Piwowarska, Mira Poręba-Ciupek, Adam Szot, Agnieszka Tokarska and Małgorzata Tulej.
There were many research projects realized in the Chair. These granted by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education dealt with “Alternative ways of dispute resolution”, “Model mod legal education in Europe” and “Interpretation of European Communities law”. These granted by National Science Centre in 2014 deal with “Potential of the precedential argumentations in Polish legal order” and “Impact of the Courts’ Judgments on the Discretionary Power of Public Administration in Application of Law“.

Chair representatives performed between 1998-2006 as the members of the Board of the Polish Section of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (IVR): L. Leszczyński as a President, A. Korybski as Vice-President, B. Liżewski as a Treasurer and J. Polanowski as a Secretary. Since 2010 L. Leszczyński has been keeping the position of the member of the Board of the Polish Section of IVR, being also (from 2007) the Vice-President of the International Association of Legal Methodology (IALM).

As a result of tradition of Prof. H. Groszyk’s supervising the activities of the Scientific Circle of the Law Students (from 1965 to 2009), the Chair patronizes the activities of the 2 students scientific circles: Mediation and Negotiations (supervisor: Prof. A. Korybski) and Legal Philosophy and Protection of Human Rights (supervisor: Dr. B. Liżewski). Since 2010 Chair organizes, jointly with the Scientific Circle of Law Students seminars on law, state and public authority. Besides, Dr. W. Dziedziak since 2000 has been coordinating the activities of University Student Legal Clinic at the Faculty of Law and Administration of UMCS.
The Chair representatives performed the ruling positions at the University and Faculty. Prof. G.L. Seidler had been Rector of the University (1959-1969). The functions of the Dean of the Faculty were performed by Prof. H. Groszyk (1982-1984) and Prof. L. Leszczyński (1999-2005) while the functions of the Vice-Deans – by Prof. H. Groszyk (1981-1982), Prof. L. Leszczyński (1990-1993) and Prof. A. Korybski (2002-2005).

The Chair organized the national congresses of legal theorists twice - in 1973 (in Łańcut) and again in 1998 (in Kazimierz Dolny) as well as 1st workshop for young legal Polish theorists in 2003 (in Kazimierz Dolny) and All-Polish Conference of University Legal Clinics (Lublin 2011).

The Chair organized many international and national conferences, among which one should mention “Protection of Human Rights in Poland and Europe” (1994), European Order of Human Rights (Zamość 2003), Concept of Interest in Law and Legal Sciences (2005), European Convention on Human Rights in the Jurisdiction of State Courts” (Kiev 2005). In the last two years Chair organized conferences on “Theoretical, Normative and Jurisdictional Aspects of the Contemporary Protection of Human Rights (2013), “On 100-years Anniversary of Professor G.L. Seidler’s Birthday” (2013), “Interpretation of Law – Theoretical and Practical Aspects” (2014), “Transitions in State and Law” (2014), “Legal Principles in the Branches of Legal System” (2014) or “Problems of the Application of Law. Theoretical and Dogmatic Perspectives” (2014)

The Chair has its own library with a collection of unique items donated by Professor Jerzy Lande.