Vizja University in Warsaw , Poland
SOCIAL POLICY AS AN ELEMENT OF PUBLIC LAW IN POLAND AND SLOVAKIA. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIONAL, STATUTORY, AND INSTITUTIONAL SOLUTIONS
Abstract. The chapter provides a comparative analysis of social policy as an element of public law in Poland and Slovakia. It examines the constitutional foundations of social rights, the main legislative branches (social insurance, social assistance, family benefits, poverty alleviation, and social services), and the institutional architecture with its financing mechanisms. A central theme is the interaction between national legal orders and the European Union’s framework for coordinating social security systems and safeguarding internal market freedoms. The study identifies a common trajectory toward a “reformed Central European welfare state,” while highlighting divergent regulatory techniques: Poland places stronger emphasis on universal and family-oriented benefits, whereas Slovak law more clearly separates contributory social insurance from means-tested assistance (hmotná núdza) and formalizes the provision of social services through licensing and tariff regulation. The conclusion argues that both countries’ legal frameworks combine constitutional guarantees with statutory discretion, reflecting the tension between solidarity and subsidiarity. Despite different emphases, both systems seek to balance efficiency, adequacy, and fairness under fiscal constraints and European integration. In this sense, Polish and Slovak social policy exemplify two variants of the same Central European search for a just and sustainable welfare state.
Key words : social policy; public law; social insurance; social assistance; family benefits; social services; Poland; Slovakia; European Union law; welfare state
JEL classification: K15,N44