Functioning of the constitutional system of III Republic of Poland  during the period of cohabitation (2007–2010)

The aim of this article was to indicate how far the constellation of political forces in 2007–2010 was affecting the constitutional mechanism of power. At that time we had to be dealing with the second cohabitation under the rule of the constitution of 1997. By contrary to the former experiences, this cohabitation was running out very intensively, especially as for conflicts in government–president relationships. That was a period of merciless political fight and far going disputes over many ticklish issues. It all has proved that by the time of cohabitation polish president is able to participate effectively in ruling the country. In the first part of the article the author focuses on phenomenon of cohabitation in France. There are remarks referring to the legal and political conditions of this mechanism as well. On the other hand these deliberations show us the differences between Polish and French model of cohabitation. The most important part of this article contains the analysis of political praxis in 2007–2010. The author researches so called „fields of cohabitation”, which were a source of real conflicts between both organs of executive power.