The “Polish Moment” and Criminological Aspects of the United Nations’ Rule of Law

Abstract

In international development aid (from 1948 to 2010), the rule of law (RoL) legitimized by the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did not become the dominant feature of this aid. This is even less so now because, at the turn of the first and second decade of the twenty-first century, the general process of erosion of RoL in the world began. The UN can play a leading role in countering it. Recent empirical research suggests that the top-down weakening of the checks and balances on power causes erosion of RoL. This calls for countering impunity for perpetrators of abuse of power and those suspected of crime. Against the background of Polish and foreign experiences in restoring RoL to counteract traditional and political organised crime and corruption in the world, this article presents complementary/bottom-up ways of remedying erosion of RoL in international development aid, based on its UN definition.