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EN
The main aim of this article is to answer the following question: What role did the framers of the March Constitution envisage for direct democracy? In an attempt to answer that question reference was primarily made to the ideas presented during the parliamentary debate which took place before the adoption of Poland’s Constitution of 1921 (March Constitution). During the constitutional debate, great caution was evident as regards the submission of proposals to incorporate direct democracy into the constitution. Finally, the March Constitution did not provide for any form of direct citizens’ participation. One of the reasons for this negative attitude to the institutions of direct democracy was criticism from constitutional law theorists who pointed to the irrationality of the use of referendum and popular initiative, as well as to the lack of sufficiently educated civil society. Of course, we should accept the argument concerning the lack of sufficiently educated civil society. However, complete renunciation of direct democracy was not accompanied with the creation of any important mechanisms for the development of civic competence. It seems that the best solution for reborn Poland was a gradual introduction of the institutions of direct citizens’ participation to the political system. Therefore, it was necessary to start from the constitutionalization of the procedural form (e.g. legislative initiative of citizens) and, then, the development of civil society would create appropriate conditions for extending the scope of available institutions of direct democracy.
EN
The debate on rationality of the March Constitution 1921 was an important component of public debate conducted in Poland in the second half of the 1990s. Pilsudski’s supporters considered its systemic solutions as a basic factor of the institutional crisis faced by Poland. Hence, any political activities the Non-Party Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR), including campaign for elections to the Sejm and Senate of the second term of offi ce were conducted under the slogan of the revision of the basic law. The fi rst initiative in this regard was taken by the Sanacja in May 1928 when Walery Sławek wrote out a survey, the purpose of which was to exchange views within the ruling bloc on basic constitutional issues. Two months later a conference took place for conclusive deliberations. The participants expressed their belief in the need to amend the provisions of the Constitution, including the mechanisms of creation of the Sejm and the Senate. However, each of the groups forming BBWR approached to these issues according to their own, often mutually exclusive, concepts. Efforts by Pilsudski’s supporters in early autumn 1928, also did not lead to a coherent proposal for the revision of the constitution. Divergent results of the constitutional consultation therefore proved that the leadership of BBWR in this period did not have a crystallized vision of the changes in the constitution. It could only indicate their preferred direction for transformation of the legal system.
EN
The article refers to the sejm elected on 26 January 1919. The parliamentary representation established on that day reflected electoral preferences of the society. The so-called Legislative Sejm was to create the systemic foundation of the renascent State — a modern foundation, suitable for the challenges of the time. The sejm comprised representatives of the intelligentsia and peasantry — those two socio-professional groups consisted 4/5 of the chamber’s composition. One of its first achievements was passing a resolution which became known as the so-called Small Constitution, which concisely regulated the most important systemic issues for the transition period, until the constitutional act is passed. Hence, the Sejm was a sovereign legislative body, closely cooperating with the Chief of State. Achievements of the Sejm comprise both social issues and matters related to the inexpedient reconstruction of the devastated state. Long-term systemic solutions aimed at modernizing the country referred to matters affecting the efficient integration process. This includes establishing the voivodeships as well as organizing the state finances (including taxes). The copestone of the reconstruction was the adoption of the Constitution of 17 March 1921. The achievements of the Legislative Sejm shall be assessed positively. It was the sejm which laid down the foundations of the renascent Republic, acting as the stabilizer, especially of the internal situation of the Polish State.
PL
W tekście ukazano działalność reprezentacji nurtu chrześcijańsko-demokratycznego w Sejmie Ustawodawczym II RP. Przedstawiono skład osobowy Chrześcijańskiego Narodowego Klubu Robotniczego, jego władze oraz dynamikę zmian liczebności jego członków. Dokonano analizy chadeckiej myśli politycznej, zrekonstruowanej na podstawie pierwszego programu Chrześcijańsko-Narodowego Stronnictwa Pracy z 1920 r. zestawionego z analizą aktywności posłów chadeckich na forum plenarnym Sejmu Ustawodawczego (tu zasadniczą podstawą źródłową były stenogramy posiedzeń Sejmu Ustawodawczego). Ukazano dorobek chadeckiej myśli politycznej przez pryzmat zagadnień: usytuowania religii w życiu publicznym, roli oświaty i wychowania, kwestii społecznej (zwłaszcza robotniczej), ustroju (zwłaszcza wkładu chadeków w prace nad Konstytucją marcową 1921) i polityki. W wyniku przeprowadzonej analizy udało się zrekonstruować zasadnicze elementy chadeckiej myśli politycznej, przede wszystkim ich oparcie na konkretnym systemie aksjologicznym, oraz wykazać spójność założeń programowych z inicjatywami ustawodawczymi podejmowanymi na forum parlamentu.
EN
The process of changing the Constitution of March 17, 1921 was launched in the Sejm of the 2nd term on 31 October 1928. On that day, Walery Sławek, president of the Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR), proposed that the Board adopted a resolution to initiate the revision of the basic law. This issue has become the subject of the debate, first, at the Constitutional Committee (November–December 1928) and, then, in the plenary session of the Sejm (January 1929). During this period, the Deputies discussed and voted the procedures for the intended reform of the system of government. The decisions taken have acted as a catalyst for further legislative work. As a consequence, on 6 February 1929., BBWR submitted to the Sejm a draft revision of the March Constitution. The solutions contained therein, even if important, did not affect the basic mechanisms of creation of the Sejm and the Senate. Their scope and extent were limited, and the changes proposed point by point. The criticized principle of equal suffrage has not been deconstitutionalized. The concept of completing the composition of the Senate with the President’s appointees increased the ability to influence the functioning of parliament by the executive branch. However, in the face of radical proposals formulated by the Sanacja in the summer of 1928, it only partly realized the expectations then articulated. This fact confirms the assumption that the rationalization of the system of elections to representative bodies, as opposed to the issue of strengthening political institutions forming the executive, has not been a BBWR’s priority.
EN
An article devoted to the parliament during the existence of the March Constitution of 1921, and comparing its similarities with the Constitution of 2nd April 1997 in terms of the political system and its functioning. Based on the provisions of both constitutions and the practice, the author has undertaken to comment on the existing analogies and the possible need to amend the currently binding constitution.
PL
Artykuł poświęcony parlamentowi w czasie obowiązywania konstytucji marcowej z 1921 r. oraz porównujący jej podobieństwa z konstytucją z 2 kwietnia 1997 r. w zakresie pozycji ustrojowej i funkcjonowania. W oparciu o przepisy obu konstytucji i praktykę autor podjął się wypowiedział się na temat istniejących analogii i ewentualnej potrzeby zmiany obecnie obowiązującej ustawy zasadniczej.
EN
The publication aims to present the practise of application of the so called March Constitution (passed in march 1921 by the parliament of the Polish Second Republic), which come to power as a result of the coup d’état of May 1926. The Sanacja camp’s leader, Józef Pilsudski evaluated march constitution negatively, as it created parliamentary supremacy in state authority system. In the introduction to the publication, an amendment to the march constitution of 2 August 1926, which strengthened the competences of the executive authorities, was presented. The precedents were formally in line with the literal wording of the provisions of the March Constitution, but in practise they contradicted its fundamental principles. Precedents were the main weapon in the battle conducted by Józef Piłsudski against the Sejm, which was in opposition to the Sanation authorities. The practice of shortening parliamentary sessions would lead to a significant limitation of the Sejm’s activity in favour of law-making by the President’s decrees. The last of a series of constitutional precedents of the Sanacja camp was used to adopt a new constitution contrary to the provisions of the March Constitution. The April Constitution of 1935 officially confirmed the system of authoritarian rule of the Sanacja camp.
PL
Publikacja przedstawia praktykę stosowania uchwalonej w 1921 r. Konstytucji marcowej przez obóz sanacyjny, który przejął rządy w wyniku zamachu stanu z maja 1926 r. Przywódca obozu sanacyjnego Józef Piłsudski krytycznie oceniał Konstytucję marcową, gdyż wprowadzała ona faktyczną dominację parlamentu w systemie organów państwowych. Dlatego tytułem wstępu omówiono przeprowadzoną przez obóz sanacyjny w legalny sposób w sierpniu 1926 r. nowelizację obowiązującej Konstytucji, której celem było wzmocnienie kompetencji władzy wykonawczej. Dalszemu rozszerzeniu tych kompetencji w praktyce ustrojowej II Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej służyło stosowanie tzw. precedensów konstytucyjnych. Były one wprawdzie zgodne z literalnym brzmieniem przepisów obowiązującej Konstytucji, lecz stały w sprzeczności z jej podstawowymi zasadami. Precedensy były główną bronią w walce prowadzonej przez Marszałka Piłsudskiego z opozycyjnym wobec rządów sanacji Sejmem. W artykule przedstawiono sprzeczną z konstytucyjną zasadą rządów parlamentarno-gabinetowych praktykę powoływania przez Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej rządów sanacyjnych, które funkcjonowały pomimo braku poparcia większości sejmowej. Kolejny zaprezentowany w artykule precedens konstytucyjny polegał na zgodnym z literalnym brzmieniem Konstytucji marcowej odraczaniu przez Prezydenta otwartych sesji sejmowych, a następnie ich przedwczesnego zamykania. Praktyka skracania sesji sejmowych doprowadzi do znacznego ograniczenia działalności prawotwórczej Sejmu na rzecz tworzenia prawa przez Prezydenta w drodze wydawania rozporządzeń z mocą ustawy. Ostatni z omówionych w artykule precedensów został wykorzystany przez sanację do przyjęcia w sposób częściowo sprzeczny z postanowieniami Konstytucji marcowej nowej ustawy zasadniczej. Konstytucja kwietniowa z 1935 r. oficjalnie utrwali system rządów autorytarnych obozu sanacyjnego.
EN
The year 1918 has restored freedom not only to the Polish society, which through 123 years was persecuted by the partitioners, but also to the Catholic Church, towards which the partitioner states had a negative attitude. The situation has changed after the recuperation of independence. Since then the Catholic Church encompassed most of the society. This situation ought to be regulated by the state with respect to law, and so it happened in the March Constitution (1921), especially in the article 114, which speaks of an accord between the Polish state and the Catholic Church by means of an international treaty. This article constituted a foundation for signing a concordat (1925).
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EN
The March Constitution of 1921 was a result of a compromise, which was quickly criticised by politicians, lawyers, and scholars alike. Its form was also affected by the personality of Józef Piłsudski – predicting that he would become the head of the state, the right wing of the political scene purposefully weakened the presidential prerogatives. It was not long before the constitution failed to fulfil the hope vested in it. Even its own authors joined the criticism. The main objections included the supremacy of the parliament over other authorities or the excessively strong inspiration drawn from French constitutions. The work on a new constitution began in 1928. Although most of the political parties were aware of the necessity to fix the government system, the deputies opposing the governing camp refused to take part in the work on the constitutional changes and adopted a confrontational attitude. Representatives of individual parties criticised the draft by the Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government and paid little attention to their own initiatives. Despite the absence of the opposition in the Sejm on 26 January 1934, the Constitution was passed and then, after it had been signed by the president, entered into force in April 1935. Rarely did any event or legal act in Poland’s history cause such emotion and controversy. There is rich literature on the subject, but for years, there was no serious polemic, but rather the constitution was debased as a whole, and a substantial analysis has not been undertaken. The focus was on the fact that it was passed illegally and on its articles that could be regarded as not fully democratic. This approach is firmly cemented. The aim of the work is to show the situation related to the government system of the young Polish state in the Interbellum period and the debate that took place in the Polish parliament. The author focuses on the role of the opposition in the discussed events, critiques their conduct during the work and the passing of the constitution. This evaluation is made not only in the context of the internal circumstances but also the geopolitical and international situation, which was highly complicated in the 1930s.
EN
The author presents the views of the Lviv Archbishop of the Armenian rite, Józef Teodorowicz, about the Senate. He expressed his opinions during his work on the March Constitution (1921). The Archbishop supported the bicamerality of the Sejm, polemicising during the work on the constitution, mainly with left-wing deputies opposing the existence of the Senate. The existence of the Senate was supported by politicians and deputies of national democracy and other political parties, of which the Archbishop was one of the political leaders. Teodorowicz regarded the Senate and the clergy sitting in it as a part of the Polish national tradition. However, he presented a strongly conservative view in this aspect and he was against any formations that would replace the Senate. The issue of the Senate was one of the issues that provoked major disputes among MPs sitting in the legislative Sejm. In the end, the solution regarding the Senate, which was adopted in the constitution, was a political compromise, that took into account mosty the views of the national democracy movment, to which Archbishop Teodorowicz also belonged.
EN
In the Second Republic of Poland, an important religious, cultural and socio-economic phenomenon was – as it is today – pilgrimage tourism. The author’s intention was to analyze the laws in force at that time and to answer the question whether the state legislation had a positive impact on the development of this type of tourism. The basic normative acts in this respect were the Constitution of March and the Constitution of April, whose provisions guaranteed, among others, the freedom of worship to citizens, and religious organizations, recognized by the state, the right to hold collective and public services. When it comes to ordinary legislation, the provisions of the 1932 Criminal Code, the 1932 Law on Assemblies and the provisions relating to time off from work (establishing holidays and introducing the institution of rest leave) were analyzed. Attention was also drawn to the draft of the “Tourism Act”, which contained regulations affecting the development of pilgrimage tourism. Next, the paper focuses on the legal acts issued by the Minister of Communication, providing concessions for pilgrims travelling by train, and on the legal acts issued by other bodies, containing regulations for pilgrims going abroad or coming from abroad to Poland. After the analysis of the legal regulations, it was concluded that the actions of the state authorities, recognizing the important role of religion in the functioning of the state and society, favored the development of pilgrimage tourism. The regulations did not provide for restrictions which resulted in the practice of such tourism without restraint.
PL
W Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej ważnym zjawiskiem religijnym, kulturowym oraz społeczno-ekonomicznym była – tak jak i dzisiaj – turystyka pielgrzymkowa. Zamierzeniem autora artykułu było dokonanie analizy przepisów prawa obowiązujących w tym okresie oraz udzielenie odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy ustawodawstwo państwowe miało pozytywny wpływ na rozwój tego rodzaju turystyki. Podstawowymi aktami normatywnymi, których przepisy zostały poddane analizie, są Konstytucja Marcowa z 1921 r. oraz Konstytucja Kwietniowa z 1935 r. Przepisy ustaw zasadniczych gwarantowały obywatelom m.in. wolność kultu, zaś związkom wyznaniowym, uznanym przez państwo, prawo do urządzania zbiorowych i publicznych nabożeństw. W zakresie ustawodawstwa zwykłego przeanalizowano przepisy kodeksu karnego z 1932 r., ustawy o zgromadzeniach z 1932 r. oraz przepisy odnoszące się do czasu wolnego od pracy (ustanawiające dni wolne od pracy oraz wprowadzające instytucję urlopu wypoczynkowego). Zwrócono też uwagę na projekt „ustawy turystycznej”, który zawierał regulacje mogące mieć wpływ na rozwój turystyki pielgrzymkowej. W dalszej kolejności przeanalizowano akty prawne wydane przez ministra komunikacji, przewidujące ulgi dla pielgrzymów podróżujących koleją, a także akty prawne wydane przez inne organy, zawierające przepisy obowiązujące pielgrzymów wyjeżdżających za granicę lub przyjeżdżających z zagranicy do Polski. Przeprowadzona analiza przepisów prawa pozwoliła na stwierdzenie, że działania władz państwowych, uznających doniosłą rolę religii w funkcjonowaniu państwa i społeczeństwa, sprzyjały rozwojowi turystyki pielgrzymkowej. Przepisy nie przewidywały ograniczeń i uprawianie tego rodzaju turystyki mogło odbywać się swobodnie.
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