Zasada praworządności/1/en
Z Encyklopedia Administracji Publicznej
PRINCIPLE OF RULE OF LAW (legality) – the universal constitutional principle of democratic states proclaiming that governing is based on and within the limits of the law. It is a necessary element of the democratic legal order. It is also a general principle of the c.a.p.: public administration bodies operate on the basis of universally binding law, which means that the legal basis for an → administrative decision cannot be, for example, preambles of normative acts, resolutions of the council of ministers or orders of the president of the council of ministers. P.r.l. entails that the state bodies have the power to take such actions to which they have been authorized under the law, which is a closed catalogue. In the course of administrative proceedings, public administration bodies are not only to take care that they act within the limits of the law, but also that all participants of the proceedings at each of their stages act in accordance with the law. Public administration bodies must act on the basis of generally applicable regulations, the catalogue of which is closed and has been included in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland [ E. Zielińska ].