This paper contains general characteristics of a regime (being an institutional system) and a discussion on the specificity of socialism as a type of regime and its repressiveness. It also presents the type of institutional changes implemented after socialism and, in particular, in the wording of the laws and the system of types of organisation. Against this background, institutional factors fundamental for economy are analysed, and two main aspects of law enforcement and administration of justice: the (in)effectiveness and (in)justice are discussed with a special focus on Poland’s reality.