Material Equality in Senate Elections

The article analyzes the issue of material equality in elections to the Senate. The electoral system in elections to the upper house of parliament in Poland radically violates the principle of material equality of elections. It is characterized by a large disproportion in the size of electoral districts in terms of the number of inhabitants in individual electoral districts. The current division into electoral districts, resulting from the annex to the Electoral Code, violates its provisions. It is also controversial from other points of view. It also raises the question of its compliance with the principle of a democratic state of law.

The First Meeting of the Senate of the Republic of Poland

The purpose of this article is to present the constitutional and legal issues related to the first sitting of the Senate of the Republic of Poland after the elections. The author made a substantive analysis of the issue of the entity obliged to convene the first sitting, the legal form of this convocation, the date and place of the sitting, as well as the subject matter, i.e. the agenda of the sitting. A division was made into obligatory and optional points of the agenda of the meeting. The article also contains several conclusions concerning the status of the Senior Speaker. The author focuses his attention primarily on an analysis of the constitutional regulations concerning the issues raised, obviously taking into account the provisions of the rules of the chamber.

Bicameralism in Kenya-Restoration of the Senate by the 2010 Constitution and its Current Role in Kenya’s Constitutional Order

Article seeks to determine the constitutional position of the Senate in Kenya. Despite the return in the Kenyan parliament to the bicameral model, the analysis of the legislation and its implementation in the system, show that the distribution of powers between the chambers suggests the adoption of a system of non-equilibrium bicameralism, where the dominant role is played by the National Assembly. Indeed, the competencies of the Senate have defined along the lines of federal-type stat Bicameralism in Kenya-Restoration of the Senate by the 2010 Constitution and its current role in Kenya’s constitutional order es, reducing the role of the second chamber to a caretaker function towards the counties (not arbitrary in nature), while significantly limiting its role within the legislature. In the current political situation, the powers of the Second Chamber are challenged from two sides. This is influenced by the National Assembly, as well as the executive branch of the counties, which is demanding broader autonomy. Thus, despite the bicameralism declared by the constitution, functional arrangements seem to be moving toward a unicameral model.

The Second Chamber of the Polish Parliament in the Concepts of the Polish People’s Movement

The objective of the article “The second chamber of the Polish parliament in the concepts of the Polish people’s movement” is to analyze the issue of the Second Chamber of the Polish Parliament in the political thought of the People’s movement. The People’s Party supported a unicameral parliament. The Second Chamber reappeared in the 1930s as a Chamber of Commerce or Local Government (similarly in the Third Polish Republic). However, in practice, they voted for the adoption of subsequent constitutions, in which the Senate was present. This was not the expression of their political thought, but of their ability to make compromises and put the interests of the state above party particularism.

The article analyses selected instruments that affect the specialization of the Senate within its right to legislative initiative. Its subject is the powers of this body in the preparation of draft laws related to submitting petitions and cooperation with the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Supreme Audit Office. These actions that specialize the competences of the Senate should be assessed positively, as they have an impact on strengthening the constitutional position of this state body. However, the evaluation results show that this body should be consistent in their implementation and development. In order to address the intended topic, the work uses a legal-dogmatic analysis and also refers to the practical aspect of the functioning of the Senate in the selected scope.