Does the Constitution of the Republic of Poland (as Adopted on 2nd April 1997) Need Amendments? Cover Image

Czy Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z 1997 r. wymaga zmian?
Does the Constitution of the Republic of Poland (as Adopted on 2nd April 1997) Need Amendments?

Author(s): Dariusz Dudek
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: the constitution; amending the constitution; human rights; the organs of public authority; accountable

Summary/Abstract: The author holds a view that the binding Polish constitution, despite some positive aspects of human rights regulation, needs significant amendments. Its primary fault is the lack of sufficient legal grounds for the correct and honest functioning of public authority. The constitution enables and does not punish disrespect and violation of authority by the people performing public functions. It neither defines the decisive role of the Nation in governing the state nor its relation to the law of the European Union. The author describes the scope of the necessary modifications of the constitution concerning the regulation and guarantee of fundamental rights (such as the right to life, the political rights and the right to complain about infringements of the constitution), the sources of law (such as the European clause) and the system of the organs of public authority. He postulates changes concerning the Polish Parliament (the limitation of the number of the deputies, the legal responsibility for infringements of the constitution), the President (the reinforcement of his power and duty to protect the constitution), the courts and tribunals (the change of the procedure of appointing judges and the alteration to the model of constitutional responsibility before the Tribunal of State). Finally, the author suggests the adoption of completely new constitution based on axiology, and not only partial changes of the current constitution, though he discerns political impediments to the realisation of this postulate.

  • Issue Year: 16/2006
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 7-22
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish