Prof. Gertruda Uścińska, Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School, took part in the legal history conference “One thousand years of Polish presence in the elite of European countries” organized as part of the Jubilee Celebration of the 1000 Years of the Polish Crown.
The scientific conference organized by Ordo Iuris in the building of the Constitutional Tribunal on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the coronation of the first king of Poland is devoted to reflection on the place of Poland in Europe. How did the coronation of Bolesław Chrobry affect Polish history? What did the rise of the new kingdom mean for medieval Europe? What challenges does the Republic of Poland face today? The speakers will include prominent experts in law, history, economics and philosophy. The conference was opened by the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, Attorney Bogdan Świeczkowski.
“A thousand years ago, the act of coronation of Bolesław Chrobry was a fundamental breakthrough in the history of our nation. Poland joined the elite group of European kingdoms, gaining political subjectivity and international recognition. This event was a kind of ‘founding act’ of our presence in Europe as an equal partner,” Prof. Uścińska said in her opening remarks at the conference.
As the SGMK Rector stressed, standing within the walls of the Constitutional Court, we see a clear continuity between that moment in history and the modern Republic. Just as the coronation of Bolesław Chrobry reasserted Poland’s sovereignty on the basis of the laws that were in force in medieval Europe, so the Constitutional Court today stands guard over our independence ensuring that no norms violating the Polish Constitution can be imposed on our state.
“Today’s conference is not only an academic reflection on the past, but also an attempt to understand our present and the challenges of the future. The thousand-year presence of the Polish State in Europe obliges us to constantly ask ourselves about our place in the changing world and to do our best to safeguard the fundamental values of the Republic of Poland.” – stressed the Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School.
Prof. Uścińska also underlined that the education of elites – not only intellectual, but also political and administrative elites – is crucial to the maintenance and development of sovereign statehood: “Poland, a country with a thousand-year history, today faces challenges of a completely new nature: demographic, digital, migration or geopolitical. It does not have to choose between modernity and identity; it should rather pursue further development and build a strong legal and political subjectivity on the basis of its strong identity .
She pointed out that at this special time, we should direct our focus to science and education – strategic instruments for strengthening statehood, in order to shape conscious, competent and wise citizens ready for active participation in further development of the Polish State.
The conference speakers will include lawyers – Prof. Anna Łabno, Prof. Elżbieta Karska, Prof. Gertruda Uścińska, Dr. Krzysztof Szczucki, Dr. Marcin Olszówka, Dr. Lukasz Bernaciński and Attorney Jerzy Kwaśniewski, as well as historians – Prof. Wojciech Polak, Prof. Miroslaw Szumiło and Krzysztof Rak. Also participating in the event will be philosophers – Dr. Jacek Janowski and Dr. Włodzimierz Dłubacz and Prof. Zbigniew Krysiak, who will share his perspective as an economist.
The lectures will cover topics such as Polish contribution to the development of medieval international law, the evolution of state-church relations throughout history, the German question and the balance of power in Europe, Poland in the circle of Christian culture. The conference will conclude with a panel discussion on threats to Poland’s sovereignty and international position.
Prof. Gertruda Uścińska, Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School, has assumed honorary patronage of the conference.
