Protecting the Sovereignty of the People during a Constitutional Crisis Cover Image

Ochrona suwerenności Narodu w czasie kryzysu konstytucyjnego
Protecting the Sovereignty of the People during a Constitutional Crisis

Author(s): Anna Rytel-Warzocha
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego
Keywords: constitutional crisis; principle of the sovereignty of the Nation; Nation; sovereign

Summary/Abstract: Threats to the realisation of the Nation’s sovereignty arising from the constitutional crisis can be considered in several contexts. Firstly, attention needs to be drawn to the need to protect the will of the Nation as the sovereign in matters concerning fundamental constitutional issues, which is reflected in the provisions of the currently binding Constitution, bearing in mind that the decision on this particular form of the Polish constitutional system was made by the Nation in 1997, first by its representatives, and then directly, by approving the Constitution in a referendum. Secondly, threats to the sovereignty of the Nation may be seen in the context of representative democracy, with regard to the process of selecting representatives, as well as the manner and procedures in which they exercise power on behalf of the Nation. Thirdly, threats to the sovereignty of the Nation may also be considered in the context of the principle of direct democracy understood as the right of the citizens to express their will also in the period between elections, inter alia by means of a referendum, as well as the exercise of other political rights and freedoms to which they are entitled. Constitutional practice confirms that the courts play a fundamental role in protecting of the sovereignty of the Nation in its various aspects.

  • Issue Year: 2/2023
  • Issue No: 59
  • Page Range: 88-98
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Polish
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