The right of petition in Poland

The right of petition in Poland is a law resulting from art. 63 of the Constitution of 2 April 1997. The author shows the bill on petitions prepared by the Senate, indicating that yet there have not been made the constitutional announcement in this regard. The paper also shows examples of the types, scope and functions of the petition in different jurisdictions. Right to petition is also a constitutional law in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Denmark, Portugal, Slovakia, Greece, Macedonia, Ukraine, Lithuania, France. It should be emphasized that there are different forms of possible instances of the citizen to the authorities: the petition, complaint and request. In various countries the situation is unstable. Frequently the petitions have been defined. Sometimes, however, terms petition and complaint are terms used interchange- ably. But mostly, where the laws on petitions are enacted, such definition exists.,eg. in the Czech Republic, Russia, Hungary.

The subject of the article is a petition, or rather the right to submit it, understanding the concept of petition, as well as the nature of the petition and its relationship with the concepts of a complaint and a proposal in the context of Art. 63 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. The notion of the right to petition in both narrow and broad terms has been analyzed. The position of the doctrine on this issue was presented.

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.