Podstawy prawawa 13.10.2026

Summary

The lecture introduces the course structure and begins a review of basic legal concepts. The lecturer explains that the course will mainly focus on how the physiotherapist’s profession is regulated and practiced in Poland, with an initial foundation in general law.

Course Structure and Assessment

• The course is organized around separate learning outcomes, or “effects.” Each outcome is assessed in its own block, and students must pass every block to pass the course overall.
• The subject has three closely connected parts:
  • Lectures: General legal concepts, the healthcare system, the physiotherapist’s profession and professional self-government, patient rights, and personal-data protection.
  • Exercises: Practical issues, including professional scope, forms of employment, and legal liability.
  • Project: Analysis of a case from a physiotherapist’s professional life, such as incomplete medical records and their possible consequences.
• The lecture exam is scheduled for 30 November. It will consist mostly of closed, likely single-choice questions, with one or possibly two open questions. The lecturer said the exam format would be clarified later.
• The stated pass threshold is 51%. Exercise assessment will also include open-ended questions and points for participation.
• Project instructions, presentations, and other materials will be posted on Moodle. Projects must be submitted there, not by email or on paper. The project may be individual or completed in small groups; the arrangement is to be confirmed.
• Students may use AI tools only within limits that will be explained during the exercises. A project generated entirely by AI will fail.
• The lecturer emphasized that legal rules change, so materials from 2026 may not remain current in later years.

What the Course Will Cover

The main focus will be the legal framework for physiotherapy in Poland, including:

• The 2015 Act on the Profession of Physiotherapist, which regulates the profession and defines physiotherapists’ rights and competencies.
• The role of the professional self-government of physiotherapists, including its representative and oversight functions.
• How the healthcare system works from the perspective of a provider, including the roles of payers, beneficiaries, providers, and medical entities.
• The legal basis for medical activity and the operation of hospitals, clinics, and professional practices.
• Patient rights, medical records, and obligations to protect personal data, including rules arising from EU GDPR and Polish law.
• Forms of working as a physiotherapist, such as an employment contract or a civil-law contract.
• Legal liability, especially civil liability (including compensation) and disciplinary liability; criminal liability will be mentioned more briefly.
• The Istanbul Protocol, in connection with regulations concerning the prohibition of torture.

Basic Concepts of Law

• Law is a body of rules or norms of conduct established by the state to organize social life.
• A legal provision (the wording in an act) is not necessarily identical to the legal norm, or rule of conduct, derived from it.
• The state supports legal rules through state coercion. This can include criminal enforcement by police and courts, as well as administrative measures and financial enforcement—for example, consequences for unpaid taxes or illegal construction.
• The principle ignorantia juris nocet means that ignorance of the law does not normally excuse failure to obey it.
• Law is distinct from morality, custom, and religious rules. These systems may overlap, but their consequences differ: legal sanctions are formally defined, while moral or social consequences can vary.
• People may obey laws to avoid penalties, because the rules accord with their values, or because they accept the rules as necessary. They may disregard them when they expect not to be caught or believe non-compliance is advantageous.

How Law Is Made and Changes

• The lecturer reviewed the legislative process and the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers.
• Routes for initiating legislation mentioned included:
  • A citizens’ initiative supported by 100,000 signatures.
  • An initiative by 15 members of parliament.
  • Government and presidential initiatives.
• Government bills are generally subject to public consultation. The lecturer contrasted this with other legislative routes, which may proceed without the same consultation requirement.
• Laws must be properly promulgated, including publication in official legal journals, before people can be expected to follow them.
• Law and social conditions influence each other. The lecturer used telemedicine during the pandemic as an example of legal rules changing in response to events, and artificial intelligence as an area where law is still trying to keep pace with technological change.
• Frequent amendments can make law unstable. Examples discussed included changes to tax legislation and a change concerning doctors’ ability to work beyond standard hours, which the lecturer said would take effect in 2028.

Qualities of Good Law

The lecturer outlined several features that good law should have:

• It should be made through the appropriate procedure and properly published.
• There should usually be time between publication and the law taking effect—often 14 days—so people and institutions can prepare. This transition period may be shorter or longer depending on the circumstances.
• Rules should be sufficiently general and abstract to cover many situations, rather than being written for one narrowly defined case.
• Obligations should be possible to fulfil.
• Laws should not normally apply retroactively.
• Legal rules should be consistent and impartial, treating people equally.
• Law should be reasonably stable, although the lecturer noted that Polish law can change frequently and sometimes contain inconsistencies.

Legal and Research Resources

The lecturer recommended or demonstrated several places to find information:

• Lex Omega, available through the university network or university computers, for current legal texts and related materials.
• The parliamentary website and its legal-act resources as another place to search for legislation.
• Google Scholar for scholarly articles; the lecturer also mentioned its AI-supported search feature.
• PubMed for medical and scientific literature, rather than research specifically about the basics of law.
• Supplementary reading includes Dr. Paszkowska’s Law for Physiotherapists and a legal blog for physiotherapists. The lecturer said that reading the statute itself is not required, but students should know it exists and where to find it.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Main speaker: An unnamed lecturer teaching the basics-of-law course.
• Other speakers: Students in the class, who answered questions and took part in discussion; they are not individually identified.
• Person cited by the lecturer: Professor Ćwiąkalski, mentioned in an anecdote about legal advocacy.
• Recommended author/source: Dr. Paszkowska, author of Law for Physiotherapists.
• Resources named: Lex Omega, the parliamentary legal-information resources, Google Scholar, PubMed, Moodle, and a legal blog for physiotherapists.