SUBIEKTYWNE SPOJRZENIE NA PRZEMIANY USTROJOWE LAT 1989-2009
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Date
2009
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Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM
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A SUBJECTIVE VIEW ON THE POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION 1989-2009
Abstract
The paper presents some personal reflections on the political transformations taking place in
Poland between 1989 and 2009. It also contains some reminiscences of the author’s participation in
the drafting of new constitutional provisions which secured those transformations a legal framework.
The author recalls discussions within the “Round Table” political reforms team in which he
participated on behalf of the Democratic Party (Stronnictwo Demokratyczne) and where he advocated
restoration of the office of the President. Against that background, the constitutional regulations
shaping that institution and its evolution in the last 20 years have been presented. The author
expresses an opinion that the dispute involving the President’s and Prime Minister’s executive
competences observed in Poland today is mainly of a personal nature, rather than stemming from
constitutional regulations which, as such, require no essential modifications.
Likewise, there is no need for any major amendments to the existing Constitution o f 1997 in the
formation of which the author also participated as a member of the National Assembly Expert Team.
Postulates put forward from time to time by different political fractions and calling for substantial
redrafting of the constitutional provisions (or passing a new Constitution) are rather exaggerated and
insufficiently grounded. This, however, does not mean that certain amendments, or partial novel
provisions should not be at all considered. Issues such as the principle that a criminal conviction
precludes a person from running for an MP’s seat, amendments to the constitutional provisions
regulating the tasks of the National Bank of Poland which will enable Poland to enter the “Euro zone”
or the possibility of transferring decisions regarding infringement of the constitutional provisions to the jurisdiction the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court, should be given due consideration
when new political decisions are being deliberated. Difficulties that might be encountered in practice
when it comes to the realisation of important and binding decisions voted for in nationwide referenda
and drafting relevant bills for parliamentary voting are also discussed.
The question of the continuity of the Polish state and the validity of its laws in the period between
1944 and 1989/90 is also analysed. It is argued that although at some point Poland lost some of its
sovereignty (i.e. during the Polish People’s Republic), that continuity was nevertheless preserved, at
least with regard the applicability of relevant laws when legal relations between Polish legal subjects
were being established. Otherwise, a proposition that between 1944 and 1989/90 that continuity was
disrupted would cause a huge legal chaos resulting in a situation in which justified public interest of
many citizens would suffer.
In the concluding part, the author comments on the political tendencies observed in Poland in the
years 2005-2007. Although the opinions that they were leading to an authoritarian government were
somewhat exaggerated, they were nevertheless capable of stirring concern, especially if e.g. they
sought to adopt into the political system solutions which promoted political practices characteristic of
a centralised system of administration.
All in all, the political outcome of the period 1989-2009 is viewed as a valuable accomplishment
and the author expresses an opinion that its significance will fully manifest itself in a longer historical
perspective.
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Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny 71, 2009, z. 2, s. 29-50