
Institute of Law
The Institute of Law was established on October 1, 2019. It coordinates and oversees research projects carried out by legal professionals at SWPS University. The Institute has the power to grant doctoral and post-doctoral degrees (habilitacja) in the discipline of law.

Scope
of Activity
The Institute of Law coordinates and oversees research and fosters integration of legal professionals, both researchers and teaching-researchers, who work at the Faculty of Law in Warsaw, the Faculty of Law and Communication in Wrocław, and the Faculty of Psychology and Law in Poznań.
The Institute also coordinates publication activities. The latest publication comprises three tomes of a series Komentarze do Konstycji RP [Commentaries to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland], two edited by Professor Marek Chmaj and one by Professor Hubert Izdebski, were published recently. Subsequent tomes are in preparation.
Moreover, the Institute manages SWPS University’s research budget earmarked for studies focused on the discipline of law, and monitors its spending.
Long-Term Goals
The main goal of the Institute for the year 2020 is achieving the best possible evaluation marks in the assessment of research institutions, for the years 2017-2020.
The long-term goals are as follows:
- to increase the number of grants for law-related studies, provided by national granting bodies, and obtain European grants for studies conducted by interdisciplinary teams that include psychologists, sociologists and political scientist,
- to achieve the desired number of publications in foreign journals during the next evaluation period,
- to establish research cooperation with foreign research centers that conduct studies on human rights, medical law and European law.
Doctoral Seminars
The Institute conducts seminars for doctoral candidates in the discipline of law. The Director of the Institute is the Head of the program. Ms. Agnieszka Budrewicz coordinates the seminars.
Authorities
Vice-Directors



Employees
Our team includes internationally acclaimed Polish lawyers, experts in various disciplines of law, researchers and practitioners, including judges of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland, attorneys at law, advocates, and analysts specializing in international security.































The members of the Scientific Board, a decision-making body of the Institute of Law, include:
- Teresa Gardocka, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
Director of the Insitute of Law, Chair of the Board - Paweł Daniel, Ph.D. / Associate Professorr
Vice-Director of the Insitute of Law - Dariusz Jagiełło, Ph.D. / Associate Professorr
Vice-Director of the Insitute of Law - Iwona Sierpowska, Ph.D. / Associate Professorr
Vice-Director of the Insitute of Law - Marek Chmaj, Professor
- Lech Gardocki, Professor
- Hubert Izdebski, Professor
- Marek Piechowiak, Professor
- Bronisław Sitek, Professor
- Katarzyna Antolak-Szymanski, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Marcin Asłanowicz, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Mariusz Bidziński, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Adam Bodnar, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Sławomir Kursa, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Monika Lewandowicz-Machnikowska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Olga Piaskowska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Piotr Piesiewicz, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Iwona Sierpowska, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Andrzej Szlęzak, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Maurycy Zajęcki, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
- Filip Cyuńczyk, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Ewa Dawidziuk, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Piotr Jóźwiak, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Piot Kuźnicki, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Paweł Mazur, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Mateusz Radajewski, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Adrian Rycerski, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Agnieszka Skorupka, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
- Katarzyna Zoń, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
News


SWPS University in THE World University Rankings 2025
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The impact of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, on concepts of plagiarism, originality and academic integrity in law school assessments
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SWPS University Moves Up in Times Higher Education Impact Rankings
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The EU: Creating Opportunities for Europe
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SWPS University in Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024
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Family, Law, and Society: From Roman Law to the Present Day
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Professor Marcin Asłanowicz to Lead Faculty of Law in Warsaw
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Professor Bronisław Sitek Named Chairman of Council for Scientific Excellence
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USWPS Among Poland's Best in THE World University Rankings
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USWPS Claims First Place in Poland for "Citations per Paper" in QS Rankings Europe 2024
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SWPS University Becomes Member of European Reform University Alliance
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SWPS University in Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2023
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Citizens’ supervision over police activities
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SWPS University in Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023
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Research Areas
Institute of Law conducts research in the following areas of law:
- constitutional law, lead by Professor Marek Chmaj
- municipal law, lead by Professor Hubert Izdebski
- criminal law, led by Professor Lech Gardocki
- medical law, led by Associate Professor Teresa Gardocka
- criminal proceedings and criminalistics, led by Associate Professor Dariusz Jagiełło
- food law and the right to food, lead by Dr. Michał Rudy, an external expert
- new technology law, led by Associate Professor Jakub Szczerbowski
The Institute also conducts comparative studies of various areas of law, under the leadership of Professor Bronisław Sitek.
Research Collaboration
The Institute collaborates with the Supreme Medical Chamber and the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights on research projects focused on medial law and human rights respectively.
Research Projects
List
Law on Higher Education 2.0
- Guidelines for Higher Education System in Poland
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Polish law on higher education requires a comprehensive reform. The current legislation is based on principles that would only perpetuate the status quo. The reform requires new guidelines, which would allow universities to introduce new solutions and to modernize the academia. The focus is on new quality of higher education, new requirements for academics, and on modern management and financing of universities and research. The team of lawyers from SWPS University, under the leadership of Professor Hubert Izdebski, will take an active role in preparing the guidelines for the new Law on Higher Education in Poland.

Plato’s Conception of Justice
from the Perspective of the Contemporary Foundation of Law in Human Dignity
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The project, though about Plato, relates to one of the fundamental problems of contemporary civilisation: are human rights, which are based in human dignity, truly universal in space and time? If they are, then the greatest thinker of the ancient times, Plato, has something interesting to say about it.

The impact of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, on concepts of plagiarism, originality and academic integrity in law school assessments
Learn moreGrant form the National Science Center No. 2023/51/B/HS5/02884

Publications
The Institute of Law initiates and coordinates publication of books and monographs on legal issues. The latest publications include a three-tome series Komentarze do Konstycji RP [Commentaries to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland], where two tomes were edited by Professor Marek Chmaj and one by Professor Hubert Izdebski. Subsequent tomes are currently in progress.