A few thoughts on the interpretation of law and legislation.

Below are presented some elements of knowledge about the legislative process which may affect the interpretation of legal regulations:

Determining the intention of the legislator (ratio legis):

• Knowledge of the legislative process, including the justification of the bill, reports of parlia-mentary committees, transcripts of parliamentary debates allow to obtain better understanding of the purpose for which given provision was adopted.

•Reading the intention of the legislator helps to determine what problems the legislator in-tended to solve, what values wanted to protect and what effects to achieve by introducing a given regulation.

• Understanding ratio legis helps to avoid interpretations that could lead to absurd or inconsistent results with the purpose of the provision.

Understanding the socio-economic and political context:

• It is worth remembering that the legislative process is conducted at a specific time and in specific socio-economic and political realities. Awareness of these conditions helps to under-stand why a given provision was adopted in a specific form and what it expressed at a given historical moment.

• Regulations are sometimes a reaction to specific events, social needs or changes in the legal environment. Knowledge of these circumstances therefore facilitates the interpretation of le-gal norms, e.g. as to the scope of their application or meaning.

Taking into account the evolution of law:

• Monitoring the legislative process not only provides us with the knowledge about changes in the law, but also allows us to understand why certain regulations were changed or repealed. This may affect the interpretation of applicable provisions, which are often linked to earlier regulations and previously adopted concepts.

To sum up, knowledge of the legislative process is an important tool for interpreting and applying the law in practice. It provides a key context, helps to determine the legislator's intentions, clarify ambi-guities and avoid interpretations that are contrary to the legislator's will.

Below, we share a link to one of the debates conducted within the Committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding the government's draft of amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure and certain other acts (Advocate Paulina Smulska, Ph. D. - presents the opinion re. bill, among others from 3:22 PM / link to the minutes of the meeting and live broadcast is indicated below):

https://www.sejm.gov.pl/Sejm9.nsf/biuletyn.xsp?skrnr=SPC-70

https://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm9.nsf/transmisje_arch.xsp#88FFF48417306531C12586F700306CC5

Don't hesitate to contact our Law Firm if you have any doubts about your rights or obligations imposed on you by law and you are not sure how to understand a given legal norm.