The article is devoted to the historical evolution and modern development trends of the Constitution of Poland. It provides the general characteristics of formation and development of the Republic of Poland. It is emphasized that Poland is the earliest explorer of the European constitutionalism. Since 1791 in the constitutional history of Poland were approved the nine constitutional documents. In addition, consideration is given to such historical constitutions as the Constitution of May 3, 1791, the Grodno Constitution of November 23, 1793, the Lower Constitution of February 20, 1919, the March Constitution of 1921, the Constitution of 1935, the Constitution of the Peoples’ Republic of Poland of 1952, the Constitution of 1976, the present Constitution of 1997. The article reveals the main features of the present Constitution and characterizes contemporary constitutional system of Poland.

In the process of political transformation, initiated the events of the Round Table in 1989. Important place and importance is given to issues of self-government. Political science literature suggests in this regard to the fact that one of the pillars of political transformation in Poland was the transition from a monopoly of the central government to local government. Local government reform introduced by the Act of 1990 8. III. Introduced a new system of local government. Local government has become the authority of the local community and gave her the right to self-determination of its underlying decisions of political, economic and social. Breaking the monopoly of local government reform and the state Democratic Party has introduced local government model, derived from the local community and serving the public administrative functions under the permanent control of the representatives of the local community.

Amending a constitution or replacing it with a new one is never easy. Even if politicians usually have a lot of ideas how it should be done, the real problem is to put these ideas into practice. If the President Duda’s initiative is to succeed, so in other words – if such a referendum is to be held, the consent of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, i.e. the second chamber of the Polish parliament is needed. According to the Article 125 of the current Constitution the consent of the Senate is given “by an absolute majority vote taken in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of Senators”. And while Law and Justice has such an absolute majority of seats in the Senate, it is difficult to say with certainty whether today, in the face of a rather tight relationship between President Duda and the Law and Justice’s leadership, Senators of this party will support the president’s initiative. And even if the referendum is held, it will only be the first step. The change of the constitution itself requires either the so-called ‘constitutional majority’ or a bipartisan consent, that is the agreement between the ruling party and at least part of the opposition. For the moment Law and Justice does not have such a constitutional majority, even if it joins forces with Kukiz ’15 parliamentary faction – the only political group that welcomed President Duda’s initiative with great enthusiasm. Other Polish political parties do not want to hear about any constitutional change accusing both Law and Justice and President Duda of repeatedly violating the constitution that is currently in force. Of course, it may change after the next parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2019 and 2020 respectively, especially if Law and Justice gets even better results, what – at least today – is suggested in the opinion polls. Maybe then, to change the constitution, they will not need agreement with any other political party, just like the Hungarian Fidesz after the 2010 elections. However, there is no doubt that disputes on the competences and powers of the President of the Republic of Poland, especially (but not only) in the context of the way he/she is elected, will return regularly in the discussions on potential constitutional changes. The possible evolution of the Polish parliamentarism into the presidential or semi-presidential regime would force a significant increase in the powers of the head of state, still elected directly by the people. Staying within the framework of the parliamentary regime would require a more precise definition of the constitutional position of the President of the Republic of Poland, leaving open the issue of the way he/she is elected.

British political practice has played a key role in shaping the political and legal systems of the nations of the Commonwealth. Among the Commonwealth member states are Kiribati, which became the subject of interest in the British Empire in the second half of the 18th century. White colonizers at the end of the 19th century took over the protectorate over the islands, which in 1916 was converted into a British colony. In the mid-1970s, the colonies split into two parts. Independent status of Kiribati was proclaimed definitively in 1979. Considering the international aspect, it has been a sovereign member of the United Nations since 1999. On the other hand, on the basis of constitutional solutions, like many other states that were once part of the British colonial Empire, Kiribati adopted and implemented the foundations of the Westminster model of democracy. Through the evolution of the system, gradually moved away from the traditional pattern, giving way to other concepts of government and politics. However, there is no justification for Kiribati’s complete denial of the original assumptions of the Westminster model of governance for other constitutional solutions. It will be more convincing to conclude that Kiribati now has a mixed system of government: it has got the elements drawn on the British tradition as well as taken from the presidential system.

The paper is dealing with the constitutional and historical importance of Act I. of 1946. In 1946 Hungary has changed its form of government. The passage of Act I of 1946 has defined Hungary’s form of government as a republic. In addition to the creation of a republic, the legislation provided powers for the president of the Hungarian Republic. Moreover, the Preamble of Act I. of 1946 was the first document in the Hungarian constitutional history which summarized and declared the most important natural and inalienable rights of the citizens.

The practice of placing in the constitution provisions relating to state symbols (emblem, flag, anthem) is satisfactory. Often accompany such regulation standards, the task is to indicate the center of which is the state capital. The desirability of such regulations is questionable, hence the question whether it is a common practice. The analysis covers the EU Member States. It is a inhomogeneous group, which should be considered as an advantage, because it allows to review the solutions. The aim is to answer the question of whether the EU countries there is a widespread practice of the constitutional establishment of the state capital, whether it is the dominant model, is it possible there are different solutions in this area, when such adjustments are redundant, whether such cases allow conclusions that can be application in practice of Polish political system.

This article describes the theoretical concept of constitutional change. The cases of constitutional changes and amendments since 1989 have been analyzed in the text. The historical approach is used as a background for the current Polish events conceptualization.
The theories formulated by Y. Raznai, R. Albert, B. Ackermann, S. Griffin, D. Landau are applied for purpose of the analysis. The authors consider the problems of: constitutional change, constitutional amendment and dismemberment, constitutional moment, as well as a kind of constitutionalism, which is connected to an abuse of power by the parliamentary majority (illiberal constitutionalism).
This paper analyses following issues: the conceptualization of constitutional amendment procedure and constitutional change in formal and informal ways as well as the constitutional moment. Moreover, the Polish academia opinions on the amendment and change are presented. Eventually, the identification of the recent Polish systemic events from a theoretical perspective and the summary of the research are provided.
The assessment of current events takes into account the historical background – the transformation started in 1989 and ended with the adoption of the 1997 Constitution. The conclusion is connected to identification of the constitutional moments which legitimize or not the transformation of the system.

The direct application of the constitutional provisions gives rise to many problems due to the particularities involved. These problems can be encountered not only in a judicial, but also in a managerial type of law application. Within the framework of the last model, the application of the constitutional provisions has to be considered through the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. The constitutional law focuses on the institutions of the political system.It determines the structure, functions, the competencies and the relationship between them. Taking into consideration the fact that the parliament has an important influence on the functioning of governance, the issue of the direct application of constitutional provisions by that authority is taking on new significance. The issue of the application of the constitutional rules relating to the Sejm internal organisation and its political functions has to be considered as relevant. The order of the direct application of the constitution indicates not only the necessity of application of the regulations, which define its organisation, operation and the subject of activity, but also these, which express so-called principles and values. Their full normative content is generally determined in jurisdiction of Constitutional Tribunal, which in turn obliges the Sejm and its authorities to apply these regulations in a manner which takes into account the judicial acquis of this organ.

The Polish model of the executive power presupposes the existence of two pillars of the executive. The Council of Ministers is strong by the virtue of its constitutionally granted competences, whereas the strength of the President is in the direct universal election. This situation creates a zone of conflicts between the supreme organs of the state. The author presents contemporary model solutions of the system of goverment and on this background he argues for a change in the Polish Constitution and the introduction of the model solutions of the chancellor government.

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the situation of modern Tibet, which political and legal structures are divided into the Central Tibetan Administration in India and the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. What connects them is a developing national identity of the Tibetans and the actions taken by the Central Tibetan Administration to create a new and independent state. Of great importance for the specificity of politics and the shaping of Tibetan national identity are also activities of the 14th Dalai Lama, who internationally promotes Tibetan culture and informs about the situation of Tibetans living in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China.
Dalai Lama is also the author of the draft constitution of the future state of Tibet, which content is a basis of the analysis in this article. Due to the comprehensive presentation and explanation of the specifics of this project, we will analyze not only particular articles, but also the introduction that we can consider as preamble. Thanks to this, it will be possible to show the relationship between political, legal and religious issues that make up the visions of the new state of Tibet.
This article is divided into two related parts. The first one is connected with national identity and independence of Tibet. The second part is focused on democratization of Tibet and relation between religion and politics.

This paper aims to present a case study analysis of the condition of the electoral system in the Republic of Belarus after more than a quarter of a century of independence. The main purpose of the paper is to explain the discrepancies between legislation and practice. The author intended to note a real situation that dominates the country’s political scene in comparison to theoretical establishments. A Constitution of the Republic (created in 1994, with minor changes in 1996 and 2004) is the legal ground of the electoral system, however, procedural details were drawn up in the Electoral Code. The principles of Belarusian electoral code consist of some statements known from democratic models, such as universal suffrage, direct suffrage, secret ballot and equality. There are different types of elections in Belarus but the most important ones are presidential and parliamentary elections. Despite the detailed legal rules for conducting these elections, in fact, the principles of democracy, as well as the internal rules in Belarus, are not respected. Both presidential and parliamentary elections have shown this in recent years. Independent observers for a long time have been alarming about worrying electoral practices in Belarus. It is also worth emphasizing that since 1994, one man has been in power uninterruptedly, and Parliament has in fact a symbolic function. In the source materials, the author used Belarusian legal acts, analyses and reports, press notes as well as scientific papers.

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland mentions as one of the principles of electoral law its universality. This means that anyone who meets the requirements of law is entitled to vote. The admissibility of exclusions from this principle is also expressly defined by the law. One of the limitations in the exercise of electoral rights is an intellectual disability resulting in the incapacity of the individual. Meanwhile, Poland’s international obligations resulting e.g. from the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides with a necessity of a deeper reflection on the present solutions. The ratification by Poland of the UN Convention has stimulated discussion on the political rights of people with intellectual disabilities, extending the field of debate on the legitimacy of the current form of institution of incapacitation. The aim of this article is to reflect on the current solutions in the exercise of electoral rights by people affected by intellectual disability but not being incapacitated.

The constitutional principle of equal access to health care services  and its statutory implementation in Polish law. Selected problems

The right to health contained in art. 68 paragraph 1 of the Constitution is one of the most important human rights. This provision constitutes the so-called public subjective right, which has its equivalent in the constitutional roles and obligations of public authorities, involving the proper settlement of the issues in the laws relating to the protection of health. In turn, art. 68 paragraph 2 of the Constitution reads that citizens, regardless of their financial situation, public authorities provide equal access to health care services financed from public funds. The implementation of this principle in the public health care system is based on the principle of ensuring equal access for all qualified entities to health services. The constitutional principle of equality does not promise the obligation of public authorities to provide free but only equal health care for all citizens, which must be guaranteed by public funds. The implementation of equal access to benefits is limited with imperfect regulation in the health sector, primarily due to insuf- ficient funds allocated to healthcare.

The procedure for amending the Constitution of Belgium  in connection with the transitional provisions of the 2012

Changing of the constitution is usually followed by using a well-defined procedure. Few European countries allow the possibility of adopting a limited exception to the Constitution. Such a law introduced in 2012, Belgium, despite the lack of appropriate legislation and practice in this field. Belgian exception to the constitution temporarily modifies the procedure for changing the constitution. This involves the withdrawal of typical Nordic countries requiring approval of amendment of the constitution by two term of the parliament. Other elements of the procedure for amending the Belgian Constitution, such as equal rights of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and increased quorum and majority required for approval of amendment, remained unchanged. Validity exception of the Belgian Constitution ends with the term of the parliament elect-ed in 2010.

The Concept of Constitutional Reform of the  Republic of Poland According to the Polish Solidarity Party

In May 2013 the party of the Polish Solidarity with Zbigniew Ziobro (further called „SP”) announced the project of changes in the current Constitution of the Republic of Poland from 2 April 1997 (further called „Constitution RP”). This project was presented in the form of consolidated text of the constitution which obtained the name of „New Constitution of the Republic of Poland” (further called „Project SP”). The Project SP proposes amendments or repeals of 83 articles of the Constitution RP (it makes a bit more than a third of its all articles) as well as addition of nine articles, not always completely new as for their solutions. The Project SP proposes introducing changes in the Constitution of RP covering in particular: system of legal sources, list of general rules of the system of state, forms of direct exercising power by the nation, especially introducing the presidential system of government, which mean far-reaching reforms of constitutional system of authorities. The article focuses the attention on their analysis and assesses them from the viewpoint of their democratisation, rules of legal state and contributing to rising effectiveness of activities of authorities while comparing them with regulations introduced by the Constitution of 1997. The estimate of proposals of constitutional system of RP covered by Project SP is not to be unidirectional – only approving or only critical. Some of these proposals deserve a positive mark, others arouse estimative dilemmas due to their loose ends or controversial character; finally there are those which cannot result in other than negative marks.

About (non)-existance of effective statistical method in linguistic research on the constitution text

This article discusses the issue of the existence or non-existence of effective statistical methods in linguistic research on the text of the constitution. Article is a review. Text summarizes preliminary acquaintance with literature of subject matter which is focused on usage statistical methods in stylistic-syntactical research. In this paper issue of usage statistical methods of research of style in constitution as a legal act had been raised. Among others, it was also highlighted a principle of usage statistical methods in linguistic and there were discussed these aspects of constitution language which precised knowledge about the style of texts in this genre could be obtained with usage of this techniques of research.

The article concerns the constitutional position and political role of the President of the Republic of Poland. Though the Author concentrates on the current constitution of Poland, that entered info force in 1997, he also reviews all the constitutions (and important amendments to these constitutions) that were adopted over the last century, so after Poland had restored its sovereignty in 1918.
The analysis is concentrated not only on the constitutional position and political role of the Polish president, but also on the way he was (and is) elected. The Author tries to prove a thesis that the actual political position of the head in the state in Poland depended and still depends not only on constitutional provisions, but also on specific political circumstances, and even the character and personality of the people holding this office.

The essay describes the concept and evolution of a countersignature and prerogatives of the President of the Republic of Poland. The countersignature is a special signature (a consent) of a member of the Council of Ministers which is necessary to validate the President’s legal (official) act. Prerogatives are enumerated in a constitutional act as presidential competences, which do not require a signature of a member of the Government (a countersignature). The author claims that the institution of independent presidential competences was invented by Polish lawyers and used for the first time ever in the Polish Constitution of 1935. Further, the author describes the evolution of the institution of a countersignature and prerogatives in the Polish political system. It is said that nowadays the number of independent competences does not have such significant importance as it is claimed in constitutional law and in reality prerogatives do not strengthen the political position of the President significantly. His/her power depends on whole relations between the authorities described in constitutional provisions.

Constitutional and political role of the royal family in Arab monarchies – Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco

The article aims to explain the constitutional and political role of the royal family in three Arab monarchies: Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco. The introduction discusses the typology of monarchy, including the division into individual monarchies with the marginal role of the royal family and monarchies where the royal family holds a significant position. Through the use of a comparative method, the article analyses the constitutional position of the royal family according to the normative acts of the studied states. The next part of the article attempts to answer the following questions: what place does the royal family occupy in the political system of their country? do its members have individual competences or share them with other state authorities? The importance of factors such as religion and family history will be emphasized. In addition, the author will indicate areas of social and political life that may be influenced by members of the royal family.

One of the symbols of the Great French Revolution was the Declarations of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen-a document adopted by the National Constituent Assembly on August 26, 1789, collecting fundamental rights and the constitutional principles of a democratic state. It later became a lofty introduction to the 1791 constitution. The French had yet to receive two declarations, attached to the following basic acts-from 1793 and 1795. Their content was different, and even when some of their rights were repeated, they often differed in their approach, which indicated the changing ruling teams, their political programs, and their social background. In addition to indicating the differences between the three declarations, the article shows in particular the inspirations of the first (most important) of them-basically the influence of the Enlightenment thought and the declaration of the laws of the states of North America. The author draws attention to the differences between the American and French approaches to human rights. Despite the fact that after 1795 no further declaration of rights was ever made in France, the achievements of the Great French Revolution, and especially the 1789 document, remain today a point of reference for democrats in France and all over the world.