Leading lawyer, Lech Falandysz dies aged 61

Lech Falandysz, one of the most famous lawyers and once head of ex-president Lech Walesa's Chancellery, died in hospital on Saturday at the age of 61. Falandysz, who participated in the 1989 Round Table negotiations with the communist authorities was also the author of a new legal strategy of interpreting the law know as, "Falandyzacja Prawa", which according to a dictionary definition denotes justifying illegal, or quasi-legal actions taken by authorities. He was the head of the Higher School of Trade and Law in Warsaw, a specialist in victimology (part of science dealing with victims of crimes), and the author of numerous publications. Since 1995, together with Robert Smoktunowicz, he was the owner of a law office which represented Jerzy Buzek and Aleksander Gudzowaty, as well General Slawomir Petelicki, the former commander of GROM special forces. (www.polskieradio.pl) J.K.