University of Silesia in Katowice

English abstract: Symbolic provisions of law lack effectiveness in the classic sense; moreover, the legislature using this instrument either accepts this lack of effectiveness or even intends it. Such provisions are adopted for the realization of either secret political goals or explicit goals – not by enforcing certain behaviours, but rather by shaping appropriate attitudes in the society. The aim of the study is to analyse the circumstances that may lead to the adoption of symbolic legal instruments. To implement this task, two examples from Polish legislation were selected, and then the circumstances of their adoption were analysed. In this way, several factors have been identified that may justify the fact that the legislature sought to establish: (1) symbolic provisions and (2) symbolic provisions intended primarily to attain secret political goals.

Keywords: symbolic law, law-making, effectiveness of law, law and politics

Language: Polish

Published: Number 2(23)/2020, pp. 121-134.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2020.2.121

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