Procedure for amending the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic

The Constitution of the Republic of France is an act of force longer than other French constitutions. Since 1958, 24 amendments were carried out, which leads to the conclusion that the procedure should not change it to overly stringent. However, the French amendment of the constitution is implemented under clearly different from the legislative process, which makes treated as rigid. This allows to assume that the authors of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic has managed to create a fundamental law stabilizing the state system, but allowing its evolution under the influence of changing realities.This study is an analysis of the procedure for amending the Constitution of the French Republic in order to determine what legal structures used to achieve this effect.

President and constitutional legislation in the Polish political tradition

The article discusses prerogatives and activity of the President of the Republic of Poland with respect to constitutional legislation. The first part of the paper deals with regulations which refer to the head of state’s participation in the constitutional legislation during the inter-war period. The second part of the article analyses legal provisions concerning that issue, which were enforced in 1947–1952 and 1989–1997. The third part contains a description of the President’s role in the procedure of amending the Constitution stipulated in art. 235, para. 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 and the application of that procedure in practice so far. The fourth part is the summary of this paper.

The latest extraparliamentary proposal regarding the draft of the constitution of the Republic of Poland – „Projekt Konstytucji Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej” announced on 11th november 2018

To commemorate the 100 th anniversary of the restoration of Poland’s sovereignty regained in 1918, the Draft Constitution of the Republic of Poland (Projekt Konstytucji Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej original spelling) was announced on 11 th November 2018 as a draft of ZPP/WEI circles (Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and Warsaw Enterprise Institute Foundation think tank) developed under the leadership of Professor Robert Gwiazdowski. It is a comprehensive Draft of a new constitution consisting of 184 articles comprised in seventeen chapters including thirteen pages of explanatory notes. A consistent support of its authors for solutions introducing presidential system of government is a characteristic feature of the Draft. In a number of proposals, the Draft differs from regulations in the prevailing Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. It specifically concerns the catalogue of rules of the form of government, legal status of an individual within the country and a guarantee of such status, sources of law, legislative, executive and judiciary powers, bodies outside the system of the separation of powers, territorial self-government, and public finances. Some of the material proposals of solutions related to a political regime included in the Draft deserve positive assessment. However, the majority of the same are of a controversial nature or inspire critical remarks. Thus, this Draft vis-á-vis the established Constitution cannot be considered as the better one. Still, as some of the solutions included in the same could have positive influence on more efficient and effective performance of the state mechanism, they would deserve some consideration and submission to a political discussion and ultimately such elements would be required in the Constitution should the amendment take place.

Once again on the Pre-Constitutional Referendum

The article discusses the issue of the pre-constitutional referendum in Polish law. In 1992 a referendum approving the new constitution was introduced to the constitutional provisions. The current constitutional regulations expressly allow only the possibility of holding a constitutional referendum approving constitutional amendments. However, the analysis of current regulations leads to the conclusion that it is possible to announce a referendum on constitutional matters in accordance with Article 125 of the Constitution, regulating the so-called nationwide referendum.

The purpose of the article is to conduct an axiological reflection using the notion of public interest, on preparation and the procedure for amending the constitution. The article provides a theoretical attempt to capture and place public interest in the broadly socially and publicly understood process of constitutional change. This attempt is not dictated solely by the desire to conduct theoretical – legal and intellectual speculation. This is supported by the increasing voices of the need to amend the existing constitution, which are often superficial, populist and de facto formulated from the position of the supremacy of the state over the individual. The time-varying connotations of the general public interest clause are related to the axiology of selected constitutional principles. The public interest, understood at a given moment in the development of social life, should be a determinant of the process broadly, i.e. both the social and the legislative sense of the constitutional amendment. Similarly, the very direction of constitutional changes should be an expression of social interest.

The hierarchy rivalry theory is based on the perception of social reality as a rivalry between associations and rivalry of systems of norms. The state constitution is a collection of tops of hierarchies. A constitution can be changed for various reasons – sometimes the change is an attempt to transform reality, and sometimes it results from the ruling party’s attempt to maintain power. A constitutional change may be a revolution, understood as a process within the hierarchy, or an invasion resulting from external influence. The importance of the influence of ideology, but also of associations, on changes to the constitution should be recognized.

The article discusses the proposals for changing the constitution, which were officially presented during the presidential election campaign in Poland in 2020. The article consists of two main parts. The first part focuses on the presented proposals of laws concerning the regulation in question, while the second focuses on the postulates resulting from the activity of candidates running for the office of President in Poland in 2020.

Search for Analogies of the Reform of the Legislative Chambers 1921–1935, 1997–?

An article devoted to the parliament during the existence of the March Constitution of 1921, and comparing its similarities with the Constitution of 2nd April 1997 in terms of the political system and its functioning. Based on the provisions of both constitutions and the practice, the author has undertaken to comment on the existing analogies and the possible need to amend the currently binding constitution.

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.

Should the Polish Constitution be Changed During a Pandemic - Contribution to the Discussion

In this speech I will present the role and importance of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland in maintaining certainty and stability of the law and system. Considerations in this regard will serve to verify the thesis that the duration of a pandemic is not appropriate for making changes. Then, the arguments justifying the thesis will be presented, based, on the one hand, on the history and reality of the extraordinary situation that occurs - the pandemic, and on the other hand, based on the legislative experience from the period of the ongoing pandemic. Their examination will allow to highlight the doubts related to the amendment of the Basic Law in a specific, extraordinary time - the period of the pandemic, and the shortcomings of the legislative mode, which was used by the legislature during the pandemic.

This article is the result of the scientific meeting organized by the KUL, in June 2021, concerning the topic of the constitutional identity. One of the intriguing problems in constitutional law is just the problem of constitutional identity. Constitutional Identity has three functions. The most important consistent that identity determines the “core” or “nucleus” of each constitution. The answer to radical question “what is the preambule to the Polish Constitution for?” should be that it mostly serves to express constitutional identity. This the basic function of this part of the Polish Constitution. Above all, constitutional identity “emerges” from national identity. Both identities are connected with each other in the preambule of the Polish Constitution.

Constitutional change is inherently a significant social and political event which, given the assumed stability of the constitutional order in the state, should not happen too often. A significant effect of any change to the constitution should therefore be its systemic usefulness in the longer term - corresponding to the concept of the durability of constitutional change. The aim of this article is to present the theoretical determinants of this change from the perspective of its assumed durability, taking into account the circumstances related not only to the constitutionally formalized mode of amending the constitution, but also taking into account other systemic factors, i.e. mainly social, political and legal conditions of the functioning of a given constitution. As a result of the adopted research assumptions, the analysis carried out here is characterized by a functional approach and concerns the following detailed issues: the theoretical characteristics of constitutional change and the theoretical determinants of this change in the context of its assumed durability.

Qualified Majority of Votes Higher Than the Majority Required for Amending the Constitution

The 1997 Constitution of Poland provides for one, three or four instances – depending on the interpretation – for the parliamentary majority of votes higher than that required for amending that Constitution. The aim of this paper is to specify the reasons that might have guided the Constitution-makers in adopting such a gradation, and to analyse those regulations in the light of democratic axiology. Nonetheless the difficulties related to adopting decisions by the parliament result both from legal (procedural and material) and non-legal factors, majority of votes remains a basic criterion specifying the level of those difficulties, underlying the role that the minority plays in democracy. In the context of electoral process’ distortions qualified majority may also be seen as ensuring that parliamentary decisions indeed reflect the will of the voters’ majority. In a democratic state there are, however, such values that cannot be eliminated even by the highest majorities.

Social perception of the Polish Constitution of 1997 and the proposals for its amendment The main purpose of the article was to show the social perception of the Polish Constitution by Poles. The media reports concerning the proposed amendment to the Constitution of 1997 were analyzed. The article includes, inter alia, questions about whether the Polish Constitution is really important for Poles, or is it rather a tool in the hands of politicians, used to evoke social emotions that are to influence the course of political events. The article uses a method of analyzing the literature and the legal acts on the subject and the analysis of the media content concerning Polish people‘s attitude to the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The analysis of the collected materials shows that Poles know little about the Constitution. The change in the attitude of Poles was influenced by the socio-political situation in the country, divided traditional media and the political opposition.

About the Need to Amend the Polish Constitution

The Polish Constitution after 25 years does not need to be changed as a very modern and proven act of state practice. Urgent and thorough change is required by the political team that has led to the crisis of the system of law and the state. It is impossible to discuss the Constitution with people who do not know what it is and are only engaged in violating it. Today only inter-party brawling on substitute topics is possible. The article is a presentation of the author’s analyzes conducted in the context of changes in the understanding of constitutional law and concepts in its scope, with particular emphasis on those related to the amendment of the constitution. The author wonders who and in what situation should take up the task of preparing and presenting a draft amendment to the constitution and whether we are dealing with a “constitutional moment” now.