The Status of a Deputy Head of the Municipality in the Polish Legal System

Abstract

The changes in the political system that occurred in Poland in 1989 made it necessary to adapt many areas of law to the new system or to arrange their legal regulations anew. Such newly created legal entities include local governments, including the local government of a municipality, which was already established at the beginning of 1990 and whose process of creation and improvement in many respects has not yet been completed. Examining the legal position of the deputy head of the municipality, whose status and scope of activity are highly controversial, is one such aspect. The presented study, based on the necessary in this case analysis of legal regulations, employing the formal-dogmatic method supported by the historical method, addresses the most crucial problems of the functioning of the deputy executive authority in the municipality: the problem of the legal admissibility of their non-appointment, their status as a deputy head of the municipality and the competence scope when the head of the municipality is unable to fulfil his duties. As a result of the conducted analysis, the author advocates amendments to the regulations concerning the deputy head of the municipality, which, given the monocratic nature of the municipal executive authority, may potentially contribute to enhancing the security of the municipality’s functioning.