Country reports

Ladies and Gentlemen,

thanks to the support of the Visegrad Fund, I have the honor of leading an international research project carried out by the European Centre of Constitutional Research at the University of Łódź. The first result of the joint work of researchers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, and the Balkan countries are reports devoted to the contemporary understanding of sovereignty in the analyzed countries. The study focuses on countries that regained their independence following a period of communist dictatorship. Some of them also have the experience of relatively recent statehood. An important context for defining sovereignty in this case is membership in the European Union or the pursuit of membership. The case of Ukraine is particularly distinctive, where a “dynamic” doctrine of sovereignty is taking shape in the context of defending the state against Russian aggression. In preparing these reports, we sought to capture the concept of sovereignty across several dimensions simultaneously: in state doctrine reflecting political practice, in constitutional regulations, in judicial precedent, in legal scholarship, and in political science discourse. This multidimensional approach allows us to better identify what is key to understanding sovereignty, as well as to capture new directions in its interpretation. Although the project focuses on Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the adopted research strategy may serve as inspiration for broader analyses of contemporary definitions of sovereignty. I warmly encourage you to read the reports and discuss the conclusions drawn from them.

Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski

Click on the flag to read the country report for each country.