EN
The Constitution of 1958, approved in the constitutional referendum on 28th September 1958, was - from the beginning of its operation - a subject of heated disputes. The controversy related to a particular situation in which its text was prepared, the procedure of its adoption and the nature of the system of government it introduced. The article presents main aspects of the discussions on this subject and, then, focuses on constitutional practice established in the last tens of years of existence of the Constitution. It has turned out that, owing to the amendment of 1962 establishing universal and direct election for the Presidency of the Republic, the Constitution (particularly in the sphere of functioning of the executive, and more precisely - the relations between the President and the Government headed by a Prime Minister) allows two different constitutional approaches depending on the relations between political forces and on ideological divisions. The first approach is close to the presidential system, the second one resembles a parliamentary system of government. In the author's opinion, both the constitutional approaches are fully permissible, which shows that, despite its concise nature, the Constitution of the Fifth Republic is quite comprehensive. This results not only from a flexible interpretation of the constitution, but is also based on the consensus between main political forces.