The procedure of Poland’s withdrawal from the European Union. Unconstitutionality of the Art. 22a para. 1 and 2 of the Act of April 14, 2000 on International Agreements Cover Image

Tryb wystąpienia Polski z Unii Europejskiej. Niekonstytucyjność art. 22a ust. 1–2 ustawy z 14 kwietnia 2000 r. o umowach międzynarodowych
The procedure of Poland’s withdrawal from the European Union. Unconstitutionality of the Art. 22a para. 1 and 2 of the Act of April 14, 2000 on International Agreements

Author(s): Rafał Smoleń
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: the procedure of Poland’s withdrawal from the EU; Art. 90 and Art. 89 of the Constitution; Art. 22a of the Act on International Agreements; simple majority and qualified majority

Summary/Abstract: Art. 22a para. 1 and 2 of the Act of April 14, 2000 on International Agreements stipulates that supplying the President, by the minister responsible for foreign affairs, acting on the basis on the resolution of the Council of Ministers, with a draft decision on Poland’s withdrawal from the EU is possible only with prior consent granted in a statute enacted by the Sejm and the Senate with a simple majority of votes in the presence of at least half of the statutory members of each chamber. This provision, adopted in 2010, has been reminded with fear in last years, due to the consistent anti-constitutional and anti-European policy applied by the Sejm’s prevailing political parties, by the government and by the President alike, supported by the subordinate organs and institutions of the state, including the Constitutional Tribunal, which is sometimes aptly named as an actual and even legal gradual polexit. The first objective of the paper is to reconstruct the legislative history of the aforementioned regulation on the procedure of Poland’s withdrawal from the EU and the competing legislative proposals in that matter that were formulated parallelly. The second objective is to defend the thesis stating that for the decision on Poland’s withdrawal from the EU, Art. 90 of the Constitution, construed a contrario (and not Art. 89), should apply, where in order to pass the statute granting consent for renunciation of an international agreement referred to herein, it is necessary to have a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, in the presence of at least half of their statutory numbers, and where granting of such a consent may also be passed by a nationwide referendum.

  • Issue Year: 25/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 69-98
  • Page Count: 30
  • Language: Polish