The aim of the study is to draw attention to the principle of sustainable development, which is contained in the Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. As a constitutional value, it certainly refers to such goods as ensuring environmental protection and protection of human and civil rights. It is a systemic principle and its main purpose is to oblige public authorities to undertake specific socio-economic and political activities taking into account present and future generations. This principle is analyzed in many sciences, most often in economic and administrative-legal terms. There is no single, legal definition of this principle, which would allow for the uniformity of interpretation of the legal provisions referring to its application and observance.

The ongoing sustainable development transformation of socio-economic life in a contemporary state inevitably impacts its legal system. The concept of ‘environmental rule of law’ proposes a model regulatory approach based on the assumption that the rule of law is a prerequisite for effective enforcement of environmental protection in a democratic country. Presently, one of the main challenges in that regard is the problem of public authorities lacking efficiency in enforcing environmental law. For this reason, a critical assessment of Art. 2 of the Polish Constitution is required in order to establish the extent to which the recognition of the concept has already taken place in the Polish legal system and to form recommendations on the necessary research into the rule of law conducted from the joint perspective of constitutional and environmental law in the context of international obligations of the Polish State.