A thematic collection of the “Archive of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy”. Texts on the tension between treating law as an instrument of politics and its autonomy. All articles are available free of charge in open access.
Between instrument and autonomy
Law is often used as an instrument for pursuing political goals — from social engineering to politics of memory — while at the same time its claim to autonomy from current politics belongs to the core of the ideal of the rule of law. The boundary between the legitimate instrumentality of law and an instrumentalization that undermines trust and predictability has become one of the central themes of legal theory — discussed in Poland with particular intensity in the context of the constitutional crisis.
Selected texts
- Nomos podatków globalnych – szkic problemu — Krzysztof Lipka, No. 2(47)/2026 (in Polish)
- Instrumentalizacja prawa a kryzys konstytucyjny — Marcin Romanowicz, No. 1(30)/2022 (in Polish)
- Instrumentalizacja prawa w kontekście polityk pamięci w Europie Środkowej i Wschodniej po 1989 roku — Filip Cyuńczyk, No. 3(21)/2019 (in Polish)
See also
Law and Morality · Classics of Legal Theory and Philosophy · Legal Interpretation.
For authors
The “Archive” publishes articles in legal theory and philosophy — including the rule of law and the relations between law and politics — in Polish and English, in open access with no publication charges and with double-blind peer review. The journal is indexed in Scopus, DOAJ and ERIH PLUS (100 points on the Polish ministerial list). See the guidelines for authors.
An editorial collection, to be extended as older texts are tagged. Last updated: July 2026.