Definitions and Legal Aspects of the Term “War” and the Related Terms

Normative acts applicable in the Republic of Poland do not lack a multitude of formulations of terms such as: war, state of war or time of war. The lack of legally binding definitions and the inconsistency of the use of identical definitions lead to different, often contradictory interpretations of particular situations, which may have different legal consequences. Only a precise and detailed definition of these concepts, preferably by incorporating them into national or international law, would dispel many doubts and close the way to sometimes contradictory interpretations, which is particularly important for security and defence concepts and issues. Therefore, in this paper the author will present definitions and regulations resulting from Polish legal acts, relating to war, war time and the state of war.