On 3 July 2019, the Minister of Science and Higher Education established the “Social Responsibility of Science” programme. The aim of the programme is to assist institutions of the higher education and scientific system and other bodies involved in the dissemination of science in carrying out projects for the dissemination of science or the promotion of academic sport, as well as projects for the preservation of library holdings essential to science or the scientific heritage. Under the programme, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University received financial support from the Ministry for the implementation of this project. The project manager is Maciej Szmigiero, PhD in law, attorney at law.
The project “The Law of New Technologies – Drones, Electromobility. Innovation, Development and Security” is a response to society’s growing demand for ways of acquiring knowledge of the law of new technologies. In recent years, the spread of drones and ground-based electric vehicles has accelerated rapidly, and in the reality around us, we are seeing more and more use of high-tech devices. Once reserved exclusively for the military industry, unmanned aircraft are now conquering civilian markets in different countries and gaining a large fan base around the world. The catalogue of applications for these devices is growing year by year as further studies are being carried out on the subject.
What is the aim of the project?
The aim of the project is to promote scientific research in Poland in the field of the law of new technologies among the national and foreign (English-speaking) public by acquiring knowledge of the legal regulations for unmanned aerial vehicles – drones – in particular their operation, their design, the obligations of operators and pilots, as well as the obligations of public actors in the field. Electromobility and the mechanisms to support its users.
Which tasks are fulfilled?
The main task of the project is to inform different groups of the population about new technologies, with a focus on legal issues.
What are the target groups of the project?
The project is aimed both at people with extensive experience in the field of new technologies who want to expand or consolidate their knowledge, and at people who are completely independent of them and who want to learn about unmanned aerial vehicles, electromobility and advanced industry in its broadest sense.
What will be the impact of the project?
The project will lead society to learn more about the law of new technologies in a broader sense. The workshops, the website and other scientific dissemination activities are intended to raise awareness among Polish and foreign customers about the existence of legal regulations for unmanned aircraft and electromobility, among others.
About the authors
dr Maciej Szmigiero, attorney at law – long-time university lecturer and civil servant; currently adjunct professor at the Chair of Administrative Law and Local Self-Government at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw; in previous years, director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance, expert of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, director of the Legislative Department of the Ministry of Finance; author of numerous publications on administrative law and new technology law, including co-author of Europe’s first comprehensive monograph on drone law published in Polish and English.
dr hab. Marlena Sakowska – Baryła, prof. at the University of Łódź – professor at the Chair of European Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Łódź, attorney at law, partner at Sakowska-Baryła, Czaplińska Kancelaria Radców Prawnych Sp. p., vice-president of SBC Inspektor Sp. z o.o, editor-in-chief of ‘ABI Expert’, member of the Social Team of Experts to the President of the Office for Personal Data Protection, member of the Commission for New Technologies of the Regional Chamber of Legal Advisers in Łódź, head of postgraduate studies ‘New technologies law – service for business and public sector’ at the Faculty of Law of the University of Łódź. In 2022, she was included in the ‘List of the 25 best lawyers in business’ of Forbes Women magazine and the Women in Law Foundation. Included in the ‘List of 100 People who have made a distinctive contribution to improving digital literacy of citizens in Poland in 2023’. She specialises in information law. Academic editor and co-author of the commentary to RODO, UDIP and the Act on Open Data and Re-use of Public Sector Information. Author of more than 180 scientific and popularising publications. She teaches at several universities. Runs a YouTube channel popularising personal data protection, information law and new technologies.
Paweł Szewczyk – attorney at law. He gained professional experience working in the Legislative Department, Legal Department and Office of the Director General of the Ministry of Finance and Office of the Director General of the Ministry of Development and Technology. From 2020 to 2021, he was the Coordinator of the Ethics Team at the Ministry of Finance and a member of the Team of Coordinators for Accessibility at the Ministry of Finance. Since 2018, he has served as an election official in the municipality of Radzanów. Co-author of the publication ‘The Church vis-à-vis the Administration. Sources of law with explanations and ‘Lexicon of mysteries’. Active drone user.
Aleksander Horyń – law graduate of the University of Warsaw, graduate of the Contract Law study at the Harvard Law School and the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), seminarian of Prof. Marcin Matczak, lawyer in the Domański Zakrzewski Palnika law firm specialising in medical law. One of the four co-authors of the report ‘Medical data in a doctor’s work – current state and desirable changes’ created for the Supreme Medical Chamber. Winner of the Scholarship of the Rector of the University of Warsaw and of the Commercial Law Olympiad of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, speaker at more than a dozen national scientific conferences, co-author of the peer-reviewed scientific monograph ‘Law and system in conditions of instability’. Member of the Supervisory Board of the Alexis de Tocqueville Foundation since 2022 and Secretary of the Board of the Independent Students’ Union UKSW. Founder and first president of the UKSW New Technologies Law Academic Circle.
