Polskie prawo prasowe w latach 1919—1939

The view that the press has an almost unlimited power of influencing public opinion is hard to question. For this reason, legal regulations regarding the press have frequently been dependent on the current political system. State authorities, being aware of the impact that the press may have on public opinion, have been eager to create the press law. The years 1919—1939 were a period of increased legislative activity with respect to the press law on the territory of Poland. The legal acts that were passed at that time aimed not only at eliminating particularisms stemming from the regulations practised by the invading countries, but also at shaping the limits of the freedom of press so as to enable the authorities to control the content of the published texts. Therefore, the present article analyses individual press law acts applicable in the years 1919—1939 for the legal structures that affected the degree of freedom of speech granted to the press. Also, an attempt has been made at answering the question whether the contemporary political situation has affected the shape of the press law.