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THE AXIOLOGY AND SPIRIT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE THIRD REPUBLIC OF POLAND

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Stawrowski Z.

Przegląd Sejmowy

2007

issue 4(81)

49-64

The author makes an assumption that any text of the constitution cannot properly be understood without its historical, cultural and political contexts. Therefore, he presents in detail the historical context of work on a constitution of democratic Poland, starting with the debates of the Round Table. In this respect, he distinguishes three stages of systemic transformations, delineated by successive terms of parliament: first stage prior to the first partially democratic election when the constitution of the Polish People's Republic was changed, the office of President of the Republic elected by the National Assembly was introduced and new act on elections to the Sejm and the Senate was adopted; the second stage - the period of functioning of the 'contractual parliament' when the name of the State was restored and ideological phrases about the alliance with the Soviet Union and the leading role of the PUWP were deleted from the basic law, and the provision stating that Poland is a democratic State governed by the rule of law and implementing the principles of social justice was introduced together with the principle of universal election of the president; the third stage - the functioning of a parliament chosen in a fully democratic election, when the constitutional acts were adopted, including: the Act on mutual relations between the legislative and the executive power of the Republic of Poland and the local self-government (the so-called Small Constitution) and on the procedure for the preparation and adoption of a constitution of the Republic of Poland; the fourth stage - the period of functioning of a parliament elected in 1993, when the (1997) Constitution of the Republic of Poland was adopted. In this historical context, it is difficult to give an unequivocal answer to the question about the date of establishment of the Third Republic of Poland. The author makes a distinction between the letter and the spirit of the constitution. The Constitution of the Third Republic of Poland is entirely driven by the sprit of compromise. The philosophy of compromise which motivated work on a draft of a basic law, has mostly given Poland's Constitution an eclectic shape. The slogan of constitutional compromise hid a consistent implementation of the purposes of the then leading bloc, i.e. the protection of interests of the post-communist formation. Concessions made by the authors of the constitution to win the required majority of votes, concerned matters (in their view) of minor importance. The coming into force of the Constitution of the Third Republic of Poland meant an achievement of the goal declared by its promoters, which was a definitive confirmation of national reconciliation and closing historical accounts which date back to the period of the Polish People's Republic.

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1 Przegląd Sejmowy

1 Stawrowski Z.

1 2007

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THE AXIOLOGY AND SPIRIT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE THIRD REPUBLIC OF POLAND