Article 22(2) of the Constitution of Uganda (1995) provides that “[n]o person has the right to terminate the life of an unborn child except as may be authorised by law.” It is different from the approaches taken in some African countries such as in Somalia, Kenya and Eswatini where the constitutions expressly provide for some of the grounds on which a pregnancy can be terminated. Parliament has not yet enacted legislation to give effect to Article 22(2). Hence, sections 130–132 of the Penal Code Act (1950) still criminalise attempts to procure abortion; procuring miscarriage; and supplying drugs to procure abortion. However, section 207 of the Penal Code Act allows abortion as a “surgical operation” to save the life of the mother. The Supreme Court of Uganda has explained different rules of constitutional interpretation. Referring back to the drafting history of the Constitution is one of those rules. There are different rules of constitutional interpretation the reliance on which could lead to a different outcome when interpreting Article 22(2). In this article, I rely on the drafting history of the Constitution to argue that Article 22(2) should be interpreted as permitting abortion for the purpose of saving a woman’s life even if it is not done as a surgical operation. Thus, I disagree with the Constitutional Court’s decision in Human Rights Awareness Promotion Forum and Others v Attorney General (2025), in which the Court held that the drafting history of Article 22(2) suggests that abortion is only legal if committed as a surgical procedure to save the life of a mother. I also argue that abortion on other grounds such as where a foetus has serious abnormalities and that the pregnancy was as a result of a criminal act such as rape, defilement or incest has to be legalised by Parliament expressly. Thus, the argument that Article 22(2) should be interpreted as legalising abortion on common law grounds is not supported by its drafting history.

The article concerns how to determine the age of the perpetrator of a criminal act. The main research problem is on what principle the age of the perpetrator is calculated. The literature presents different positions. Some of them refer to the solutions existing in civil law, on the basis of analogia legis. Others opt for the adoption of the “moment-to-moment” method, according to which the offender ends a certain age only at the specific hour and minute of the day corresponding to the date of his birth. The analysis of the issue presented was carried out taking into account the purposes and functions that are associated with the premise of age in the subject of the grounds for imputation of criminal responsibility, as well as using inferences from analogiae legis and iuris. Conclusions arising from the analysis, in turn, confirmed the research hypothesis that on the grounds of criminal law regulations related to the calculation of the age of the perpetrator, the calculation of time is adopted on the basis of the “moment-to-moment” method.

This article explores a study of the practice of using official model justifications for rulings in disciplinary proceedings of selected professional corporations. The research data was obtained by requesting public information from 84 disciplinary courts. The study revealed that most of these courts do not apply Article 99a of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure. Further analysis leads to broader conclusions on the application of law accordingly. Most importantly, it enables a systemic, rather than incidental, evaluation of the actual outcome of applying a procedural legal norm and an assessment of the compatibility of this outcome with the specific nature of disciplinary proceedings. This grants the disciplinary judiciary an additional dimension of independence, which is not present in the common courts.

The article offers a renewed analysis of the role of consent in the structure of the offence of rape in the context of the amendment to Article 197 § 1 of the Criminal Code introduced by the Act of 28 June 2024 amending the Criminal Code and certain other statutes, which adds the element of “lack of consent.” The author argues that this change does not introduce any genuine normative novelty and that its justification is based on a misreading of the requirements of the Istanbul Convention. The problem was not the absence of the concept of consent in the provision, but rather the overly narrow interpretation of the elements constituting the prohibited act of rape. As a result, the amendment does not eliminate existing interpretative difficulties but instead reproduces them, while also posing a risk of violating the principle of nullum crimen sine lege and thereby weakening the guarantee function of criminal law. The author proposes that, instead of multiplying vague statutory elements, solutions should be sought in a correct interpretation of the elements of the offence, one that corresponds to social evaluations.

The article examines the evolution of drug policy in South Africa, highlighting the change from a punitive, prohibition-based “war on drugs” paradigm to a health-based, harm-reduction, and human-rights-oriented model. It situates drug use within South Africa’s socio-historical context marked by apartheid, inequality and social exclusion, which shape patterns of psychoactive substance use. The analysis discusses the impact of the 2018 Constitutional Court judgment and the 2024 Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, along with the increasing importance of harm reduction strategies. The article identifies key challenges, including insufficient funding, institutional fragmentation and persistent stigma. The conclusions emphasize that a sustainable paradigm alteration requires integrated health, social, and legal responses, as well as a transformation of public narratives surrounding drug use.

The aim of this article is to analyze crime rates in the Przemyśl district before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war and during its first year. The question was raised as to whether the influx of refugees had affected the level of public safety. The study, based on an analysis of legal acts, administrative and statistical data, as well as the literature on the subject, showed that despite unprecedented migration, there was no rise in crime. The number of criminal and traffic offenses decreased, and the high detection rate of perpetrators remained unchanged. The biggest problemremained traffic crimes that were not related to migration. Misinformation that caused social anxiety, were crucial. The article highlights the role of reliable communication and the state actions of public institutions in maintaining social stability was emphasized.