‘Public interest’, ‘social interest’ and ‘socially justified interest.’ An attempt to specify the notions

Abstract

One of the most important general clauses in Polish legislation is, because of its constitutive character, a clause of public interest. This clause is also frequently used by ordinary legislators. The clause of public interest constitutes first and foremost the basis for limiting the rights and freedoms of citizens. In some cases, however, it is a premise for implementation of certain mechanisms for the protection of selected values (in, e.g. competition law or consumer protection law). Therefore, it has a diverse character. Connections between the law and the social life are wide, as is manifested by the theoretical and legal reflection, and a reflection of other social sciences. The law, in particular public law, results inter alia, from the realisation of a specific policy and is also a carrier and reflection of socially important values. This, in turn, triggers a need for a normative analysis and exploration of the normative content of the above clause and similar ones which include clauses of ‘social interest’ and ‘socially justified interest.’ These clauses are sometimes used interchangeably in the doctrine, but such an approach is not justified. This paper aims to analyse these clauses in detail to prove that they should not be treated synonymously.