Nie! Dla możliwości zestrzelenia samolotu pasażerskiego uprowadzonego przez terrorystów, czyli o zakresie swobody państwa w wojnie z terroryzmem

The paper comments on the judgment of the Polish Constitutional Court which established that the provision giving the State the competence to shoot down a civilian aircraft that had been hijacked by terrorists (Article 122a of the Aviation Law) is contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, precisely to its Art. 2, Art. 30 and Art. 38 in conjunction with Art. 31 section 3. The paper expands the problem analysis presented by the Constitutional Court and tries to answer the question whether any limitations of the protection of citizens’ rights and liberties in war against terrorism can be appointed by the State for the sake of greater security and safety and if that is the case — to what extent it is allowed. The author argues that the aforementioned regulation could have led to the transformation of the war against terrorism into a total war. Until the event of the September 11th, 2001 hijacking of an aircraft has never been used by terrorists as weapons for mass destruction. This has brought a new set of issues to attention, especially for the State, that is in the first place responsible for providing safety and security for the society and that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of force. The author’s reflexion is based on a comprehensive view of the protection of passengers, the air navigation infrastructure and also deals with rules governing execution of power in the State being the state of law and the need to respect the principle of trust that citizens maintain in the State and its law.