Początki odrodzonego samorządu terytorialnego. Rys historyczno-prawny
The beginning of the reborn territorial self-government – a historical and legal outline

Summary/Abstract: Restoring in 1990 institutions of territorial self-government at the gmina level was one of the most profound measures undertaken for the purpose of transforming the political system of Poland. This reform did not close the path to further decentralisation of the state and to the creation of self-government institutions at other levels of the basic territorial division. Attempts made during 1992–1996 at establishing self-government at the poviat and voivodship level proved unsuccessful. There was no further, considerable decentralisation of the state, although the previous experiences of the functioning of gminas clearly indicated that territorial self-government effectively pursues the tasks and competences previously belonging to central government organs. As a result, the reform of the structure of public administration in Poland, introduced in 1990 and in the subsequent years, was considered unfinished. Following amendments were not made until 1998, when two acts were passed on 5 June 1998: on the poviat self-government and on the voivodship self-government, as well as many acts amending the scope of tasks and competences of organs of public administration. Thus, there was also fulfilled one of the fundamental assumptions of the state structural reform, which involved the grounding of local administration on the self-government system. The study presents the process of developing the structure of territorial selfgovernment in Poland during 1990–2000, with a particular consideration of the selfgovernment’s organs, the course of their formation and the rules of their functioning. It should be emphasised at this point that new acts on self-government of 1998 referred in their regulations to many solutions adopted back in 1990 in the act on gmina selfgovernment, yet in some cases introducing entirely different regulation or only slightly similar to the one in force in gminas. On the other hand, some regulations adopted in the poviat and voivodship legislation became a starting point to the amendment of the act on gmina self-government. However, in some cases, there occurred differentiation of the constitution of particular units of territorial self-government which was removed by subsequent amendments of legislation in force.

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