Status prawny posła
Legal status of Deputy

Summary/Abstract: According to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997, a Deputy to the Sejm is a representative of the whole nation and is not bound by electoral instructions. This sets out the most general characteristics of a Deputy, corresponding to the concept of the so-called free mandate, currently regarded as the primary means of binding a Deputy with the electorate. The institution of the free mandate does not, however, exhaust the legal position of a Deputy. It is also determined by other solutions (such as immunity or parliamentary immunity). What is more, the legal status of a mandate holder must be supplemented by his political legitimacy, which means above all the Deputies ties with his electorate, constituency and, finally, with the political party with which the Deputy, or earlier the candidate, identifies himself and under whose banner - most often - he has obtained his mandate.

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