The crisis management system and the civil protection system. Similarities, differences, possibilities of standardisation

Crisis management, civil protection and civil defence are terms which are used every day by theoreticians and practitioners. Are they really different or are they synonyms? Using various research methods (analysis of expert literature, analysis of legal acts, comparison, synthesis and reasoning) in the following article, the author makes an attempt at providing answers to such questions. Th e article also presents the author’s opinion on the future of the above-mentioned systems, indicating that with some modification and legal regulations, it would be possible to develop a uniform system which would be able to function efficiently in crises, emergency situations, during armed conflicts or in a time of war, providing a proper level of management to all the operations involving civil protection and rescue services.