On 29 June 2023, in the UJ Student Zone, the first workshop of the Hector Project. Heritage, Culture, Norms. entitled "Law/Justice/Equity. Historical Perspective" took place. During the all-day conference conducted in a hybrid format, lectures were given by invited guests: Dr Rachel Guillas (Collège de France; The interpretation of the intention of the law and of the criminal act in light of aequitas in the ancient rhetors and their medieval epigones), Professor Dr. iur. habil. Adrian Schmidt-Recla (Friedrich Schiller University Jena; Legitimacy and equity in the 11th century? Age-old messages from Siusili), Dr Guido Rossi (University of Edinburgh / University of Palermo; Visions of Equity), Mag. Dr. LL.M Kamila Staudigl-Ciechowicz (University of Vienna / University of Regensburg; The concept of equity in the Austrian General Civil Code (ABGB) from its origins to the present day), Ph.D. habil. Norbert Varga (University of Szeged; Justice and Equity in Hungarian Civil Law, with Special Emphasis on the Evaluation of Agreements of Competition Restriction), Prof. Tomáš Gábriš (Trnava University in Trnava; Justice as an “empty principle” in structuralist legal thought). In addition, participants could also attend speeches by academics from the Jagiellonian University: dr hab. Jan Halberda, (English Equity a.k.a Exceptions to the Law), and dr hab. prof. UJ Maciej Mikuła, (Justice and Equity: Meta Principles in Law of the First Republic of Poland). The meeting was moderated by: dr hab. Iwona Barwicka - Tylek, dr hab. Łukasz Marzec and dr hab. prof. UJ Maciej Mikuła. 

In their speeches, the speakers presented a variety of research perspectives on the broadly understood relationship between law and justice and fairness and the changes in their understanding throughout history. Each of the three panels was followed by a discussion involving the speakers (prof. Tomáš Gábriš, dr hab. Jan Halberda, dr hab. prof. UJ Maciej Mikuła, prof. Adrian Schmidt-Recla, dr Guido Rossi) and other workshop participants - dr hab. Krzysztof Fokt (Jagiellonian University), dr Paulina Święcicka (Jagiellonian University), dr hab.  Łukasz Marzec (Jagiellonian University)

This research was funded by the Priority Research Area Heritage under the program Excellence Initiative – Research University at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.

On 20 October 2023, the second workshop of the Hector Project took place in the JU Student Zone entitled ‘Freedom/Equality/Law. Historical Perspective’. During the full-day conference conducted in a hybrid format, the guests delivered speeches:

Prof. Francisco J. Andrés Santos (University of Valladolid, Spain) Liberty and inequality in Cicero's oratio pro Sestio

Dr Liliana Tymchenko (European Humanities University, Lithuania) Non-titular, small... Does that mean forgotten?On the quality of legal protection for Karaites in the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Poland

Prof. Ferenc Hörcher (University of Public Service, Hungary) Freedom under and equality before the law in the British tradition

Prof. Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves (Jagiellonian University, Poland) The missing foundations of a free market economy: freedom, but what equality?

Prof. Eszter Cs. Herger (University of Pécs, Hungary) Natural law interpretation of the legal relationship between parent and child and the legal status of children in Hungary in the civil era (1867-1952)

Dr Stsiapan Stureika (European Humanities University, Lithuania) Transformation of cultural heritage management in Belarus based on the principles of participation. Preconditions and recommendations for Future Reforms

Dr hab. Iwona Barwicka-Tylek (Jagiellonian University, Poland) Seminar’s Conclusion: History as a Source of Practical Wisdom

The meeting was moderated by dr hab. Maciej Mikuła prof. JU and dr hab. Krzysztof Fokt.

In the individual presentations, the speakers touched on the relationship between the concepts of equality and inequality and freedom concerning both modern times and history. They also focused on legal aspects related to protection of cultural heritage and evolution of legal protection of particular social groups using selected examples of legal cultural traditions. Each of the two panels was followed by a discussion involving the speakers (Prof. Ferenc Hörcher, dr hab. Iwona Barwicka-Tylek) and other participants: dr hab. Łukasz Marzec, dr Piotr Michalik, dr Mateusz Mataniak, mgr Alexander Stachurski, Stanisław Małecki (all - Jagiellonian University).

This event was funded by the Priority Research Area Heritage in the framework of the program Excellence Initiative – Research University at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.