About the need to restore the honorary court and introduce the parliamentary and senatorial apology to the Polish parliamentary law

There is no universal regulatory model of parliamentary ethics. The issues of parliamentary ethics are regulated in various countries by acts of varying degrees, usually statutes and parliamentary standing orders. There are countries where redress for abusive conduct of MPs is subject to general rules such as civil liability. Law in other states provides specific sanctions and means of redress for breach of ethics. Traditional forms of redress, referring to the rules of honor procedure of knighthood and nobility, include various forms of apology: personal, written, in mass media, and a particularly interesting type of apologies – to the whole parliament (chambers) as an offended “person”. The inter-war history of the Polish parliament provides an interesting example of an honorary court institution that dealt with cases of offence of one member by the other and the marshal’s court – gathering in case of the violation of the honor of a member by a non-parliamentarian. The honorary court survived until the first years of the communist period. Since 1997, there has been a parliamentary commission in the Polish Parliament, whose mode of operation and system of sanctions’ apply – does not meet its task. The aim of this article is to propose innovative and restorative changes in the area of the subject matter in Poland -- first of all – the restoration of court of Honour and the introduction of an apology from MPs and Senators for breach of ethics.

Place of the Senate in the political order of Romania-a system analysis

The article concerns the Senate, – the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament. It shows legal and political environment in which it was restored after almost 50 years. The paper describes entire electoral procedure including how candidates for deputies are chosen. In addition, Senate’s competence in influencing the executive and judiciary and its activities on the international arena are being discussed. Role of the upper chamber in legislative process is being analyzed with emphasis on it’s control and creation function. The conclusion is that there is a symmetrical bicameral model in the Romanian parliament.

The Polish Constitution from 1921 established the bicameral model of the parliament composed of Sejm and Senate. The Article 35 para. 2 of the Constitution clearly sanctioned the right of the Senate to reject the whole draft of the bill adopted by the Sejm. However, neither this rule nor any other rule of the Constitution precised the consequences of such practice. This loophole in the constitutional rules caused controversies among constitutional law experts from that time and remains controversial even at present. The main aim of the article written within the constitutional-legal perspective is to present the position of the most prominent legal experts and the position of the author on the analyzed issue.

This article is devoted to one of the classic functions of the legislature, which is the control function. In the first part of the elaboration the author focuses on the characterization of such concepts as control, parliamentary control and the control function regarding doctrinal level. The rest of the article deals with the specific competences by which the Congress of the Senate of the United States of America participates in the performance of the parliamentary control function.

In its activities, the Senate uses a number of control powers defined by statutes and regulations, although this is not directly based on the provisions of the Polish Constitution. Such a practice is justified, if one considers the nature of the Senate as a representative body and the nature of the senatorial mandate, which does not differ from the nature of the deputy mandate. The role of the Senate, also in the scope of the indicated powers of a controlling nature, may increase when a different political majority in the Senate than in the Sejm is formed. As a result of the post-election agreement in 2019, the political majority in the Senate is different from the political majority in the Sejm. This new phenomenon in the Polish political system creates the possibility of a wider use of the Senate’s “soft” control tools. The presented paper attempts to synthetically present the reasons for considering the Senate’s control powers and their impact on ensuring systemic stability.

This article is devoted to the impeachment procedure in the United States of America. The first part of the article outlines a short historical background on the subject. In the following part, the impeachment procedure is characterized in its current form, with particular emphasis placed on the role of the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States of America. The data concerning the processes that took place in the Senate as a result of the impeachment procedure are also indicated.

Senate of the interwar period in Republic of Poland and Czechoslovakia

The article is an attempt to compare the constitutional position of the second chambers of parliament in the interwar period in Poland and Czechoslovakia. It was the time of shaping the post-war order. The article shows differences and similarities between the two systems in regard to Senates, bearing in mind the similar political situation at that time, as well as the similarity of drawing patterns from the constitutional order of the Third French Republic.

The right to petition as an instrument for the development of the Senate’s legislative activity

This article presents the issue of the right to petition as a social tool influencing legislative proceedings in the Senate. The considerations begin with an analysis of the legal norms regulating the institution in the presented scope. Some suggestions for changes have also been made with the aim of improving the quality of the petition process. Practice shows that this instrument of social participation is an important source of inspiration for the creation of the Senate’s legislative initiative, but it could be used even more effectively. In the context of the principle of national sovereignty, the principle of a democratic state ruled by law and social dialogue, it is extremely important to give the institution of petition a substantial shape and ensure it has a real influence on the legislative process.

The political position of the chairman on the example of the houses of the Congress of the United States of America

This article is devoted entirely to the institution of the President on the example of the Congress of the United States of America. The office of the chairman, whose competence is to conduct deliberations, is characteristic of bodies with a collegial structure. This applies especially to those of them whose composition consists of more than a few persons. The author of the article focus on all aspects concerning this office. In the first part there is a brief characterization of the models of the institution of the speaker of parliament, as well as a historical outline of this institution. In the next part an author present the systemic position of the presiding officers of the chambers of the American Parliament.

Senate of the Republic of Poland – second chamber or secondary chamber?

The Polish model of bicameralism assumes the lack of symmetry between the chambers. Certainly, a stronger position in the procedure of adopting laws can be attributed to the Sejm (first chamber), and a weaker position to the Senate (second chamber). An analogous domination of the Sejm cannot be discussed in the case of changes to the constitution, ratification of international agreements, or the election to perform state functions indicated in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. It should be noted that the relations between the chambers of the Polish parliament are subject to changes. The actual relations between the first and second chambers depend to a large extent on the currently binding provisions of the electoral law, the results of the elections based on them, and the formation of a certain majority in the Sejm and Senate.

Mediation committee in the parliament

The subject of the article is the possibility of establishing a mediation committee in the Polish parliament. It is a special type of parliamentary committee responsible for resolving disputes between parliamentary chambers. The need to establish such committee results from the fact that the Senate exercises a number of constitutional powers independently of the Sejm. They include, among others, approval of the election of the Commissioner for Citizens’ Rights made by the Sejm. This issue became the subject of a long dispute in the Polish parliament. Solutions to this type of problem could be served by a mediation committee composed of representatives of both chambers, which main task would be to work out a compromise solution in the dispute between the Sejm and the Senate. The mediation committee could also facilitate the legislative procedure in the parliament, although in this case the final vote almost always belongs to the Sejm, which may reject amendments or the Senate’s objection to the bill.

The Treaty of Lisbon strengthened the legal position of national parliaments in their activities at the level of the European Union. It means that the two chambers of the Polish Parliament - Sejm and Senate, each in its own scope, participate in consideration of issues concerning the European Union. They must share the right to participate in legislative processes with the executive authorities at the national level and with the institutions of the Union. The new legal regulation provides national parliaments with new competences, which should have a constitutional basis.

This paper presents the senatus consultum ultimum, i.e., the final resolution of the senate passed in moments of extraordinary danger to the Roman Republic. We answer the question what was the legitimacy of such resolutions and indicate their rationale and the effects of their issuance. Senatus consultum ultimum was the most powerful weapon of the Roman senate in the fight against internal political enemies in the late republic, so it needs to be clarified whether the SCU was a legitimate measure to protect the state or it cared only for the political self-determination of the senate and the optimates.

On the Need to Amend the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997 with Regard to the Term and Functions of the Sejm and the Senate – Some Remarks on the Background of the Constitution of Czechia and Slovakia

The scope of this article is to show the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 with regard to the term and functions of the Sejm and the Senate in Poland. The analysis shows that the provisions of the constitutions of Czechia and Slovakia are more precise, among other things, they more clearly define the parliament’s creative function in relation to the organs of the judicial power. Moreover, the Czech regulation concerning the Senate allows it to strengthen its political significance and position in relation to the first chamber of parliament, i.a. because of its greater role in the legislative procedure. In turn, the provisions contained in the Slovak Constitution protect the parliament against omissions of the head of state. These regulations should serve as a model for amending the Polish basic law.

Constitutional Status of the Speaker of the Senate

This article aims to highlight the issue of the constitutional status of the Speaker of the Senate by analyzing the constitutional position, powers as well as the election and removal procedure of the Speaker of the Senate. In addition, this paper includes a consideration of the Speaker of the Senate as a State organ, his powers related to the President of the Republic of Poland, as well as the Speaker of the Senate presiding over the proceedings of the chamber and guarding its rights and responsibility for taken actions.

Legislative Power and its Organs from the Perspective of the Practice of Membership of the Republic of Poland in the European Union

The aim of the article is to analyze the influence of the legislative authorities on the membership of the Republic of Poland in the European Union. A dozen or so years of Poland’s membership in this international organization allows for a new look at the phenomenon of the “democratic deficit”, which has for a long time been the case that the position of the legislative authorities is decreasing in connection with EU membership. It should be stated that the legislative authorities, due to the system of government established in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, should play a greater role in the process of integration of the Republic of Poland with the European Union.

Piotr Mieszkowski on the Senate of the Commonwealth. Some Remarks on the 17th Century Polish Republicanism

Piotr Mieszkowski is one of the forgotten republican writers of 17th century Poland. His reflections on the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are the culmination of the debates that took place in the 16th century. In his treatise Polonus Iure Politus, Mieszkowski presents a mature perspective on the proper system of the Polish-Lithuanian state, which merges the Roman republican tradition and the achievements of Polish political philosophy of the Renaissance, its golden age. According to Mieszkowski, the Senate of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is of particular importance. The author of the article proves that Mieszkowski is one of the representatives of a group of constitutionalists of 17th century Commonwealth who considered the senate the crucial element of the political system, ensuring its durability and stability. The necessary condition for fulfilling this role, however, is the cultivation of republican virtues.

Financial Autonomy of Local Government Units in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland – Selected Problems

The scope of this article is to show selected problems concerning constitutional regulations of financial autonomy of self-government units in Poland, in the light of the legislator’s freedom to determine their incomes by bills. It appears that in the light of the current regulations, the freedom of the parliament is too great, which significantly limits the financial independence of local government units. The article will present proposals for changes to Polish constitutional regulations in this area in order to increase the self-government financial autonomy, with reference to the solutions in force in selected European countries. It is necessary to increase the influence of self-government about bills concerning their incomes and expenses, so it should be a constitutional obligation to consult such projects on the forum of the Joint Government and Self-Government Commission. The postulate of transforming the Senate into a Self-Government Chamber is also worth considering.

Public Hearing in Poland – a Legitimising Dimension of Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process

The article is devoted to the practice of using participatory tools in the law-making process in Poland. The subject of the study was the public hearing introduced into the Polish legal order in 2005. It mainly used the institutional-legal and comparative methods. Embedded in the framework of the theoretical concepts of participatory, deliberative, and pluralist democracy, the presented analyses focus on the legitimizing dimension of the public hearing procedure. The analysis of the normative construction and practice of using this institution allows for formulating general conclusions that indicate its legitimizing potential, including its potential to influence institutional arrangements. At the same time, however, this practice revealed a specific “sensitivity” of public hearing procedure to the political and social context, carrying the risk of transforming it into a kind of facade institution for the representative rule (with a somewhat illusory participatory character.

Systemic Consequences of the Principle of Permanence of Work of the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland. Outline of the Problem

The article is devoted to the issue of the principle of permanence of parliamentary work. It contains a general description of the principle in question and at the same time shows its importance for the functioning of state authority in Poland. Thanks to the analysis, the reader learns how permanence affects the implementation of some of the powers of the Sejm and Senate related to the performance of legislative, control and creative functions. He also gains knowledge on the extent to which it affects the relations between the Sejm and the Senate with other bodies, especially with the President and the Council of Ministers. The field of considerations designated in this way conceals the main research goal, which is to present the basic systemic consequences resulting from the introduction of the discussed formula of the work of representative bodies.