Regional Formation and Development Studies

The article provides an analysis of legislation pertaining to the protection of human rights provided by units of local government. The author characterises the key issues relating to the protection of rights and freedom of the individual in a democratic state, highlighting the role of local government administration. Admittedly, public authorities may cause infringements of individual rights and freedoms, but they can also take actions resulting in the increased protection of these values. The analysis also reconstructs a model of human rights protection, shaped at the level of local government structures and based on the Constitution. The author provides an assessment of legal patterns defining the limits of the protection of human rights executed by local government structures, and formulates postulates in this area, suggesting desired directions for change. Also analysed is the relationship between the constitutional framework safeguarding the independence of local government structures, and tools for the protection of human rights developed in the course of the functioning of local government units on one hand, and the practice of their application on the other. Thus, the publication presents rules and mechanisms for the functioning of local government administration in the context of weighing the significance of the protection of human rights in the current circumstances in Poland.