Konstytucyjne prawo dziecka do opieki i pomocy władz publicznych

The article is devoted to the constitutional right of a child to care and help of public authorities (Article 72 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997). The author analyses the following elements that make up this right: the right of a child to protection against violence, cruelty, exploitation and demoralisation, the right to care and help of public authorities in the event of deprivation of parental care and the right of a child to be heard and have his/her opinion taken into account, where possible, by public authorities and persons responsible for the child in the course of determining a child’s rights. The article also discusses the problem of determining the term “child” against the background of constitutional provisions and the divergent conception of a “child” in the Civil Code and the Family and Guardianship Code.