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Constitutions of Selected Countries After the Transition from Authoritarian Regimes Collection of Legal Acts

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Constitutions of Selected Countries After the Transition from Authoritarian Regimes Collection of Legal Acts ISBN 978-83-62363-92-6 9 788362 363926 Constitutions of Selected Countries after the Transition from Authoritarian Regimes Collection of Legal Acts Estonia Georgia Poland Vol. 1 Edited by Joanna Marszałek-Kawa Joanna Piechowiak-Lamparska Anna Ratke-Majewska Patryk Wawrzyński Reviewers prof. dr hab. Marek Chmaj prof. dr hab. Jacek Sobczak Publishing Editor Justyna Brylewska Proofreading Karolina Kukowska Technical Editing Ryszard Kurasz Cover Desing Monika Sosińska © Copyright by Europejskie Centrum Edukacyjne All rights reserved. The book you have purchased is the work of the author and the publisher. No part of it may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from the copyright owner. In case of brief quotations of the work do not change the contents and make sure to note whose it is Toruń 2013 ISBN 978-83-62363-92-6 Sales Department: tel./fax 56 648 50 70; e-mail: [email protected] Europejskie Centrum Edukacyjne, ul. Warszawska 52, 87-148 Łysomice tel. 56 678 34 78, e-mail: [email protected], www.marszalek.com.pl Drukarnia nr 1, ul. Lubicka 46, 87-100 Toruń, tel. 56 659 98 96 CONTENT Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5 The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia ...................................................... 9 The Constitution of Georgia ................................................................................. 59 The Constitution of the Republic of Poland ....................................................... 129 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 205 INTRODUCTION Transition of a political system is an extremely important process. Trans- formation from an authoritarian system to a democratic system is a result of deep economic, social, and political transformations. Undoubtedly, the 20th century brought transformation on many levels, both in the intrastate, as well as in the international dimension1. According to the theory of Jan Szczepański, it is one of the three available ways of conducting social change, apart from reform and revolution2. The essence of transformation lies in the endogenic source of the occurring changes, which is particularly important in regard to their direction. The fundamental goal of a systemic transformation is the intrastate and intrasocietal need for a political rapprochement to those states which are based on a democratic system and market economy. In practice, this means abandoning the authoritarian mode of governing exercised by socialist par- ties and the centrally steered economy with due consideration to conditions in each case. In most instances, overthrowing the representatives of the au- thoritarian power is regarded as the starting point of transformation, while adopting a new constitution, or any other essential legal document funda- mental to the new system, is considered be its end. In the first volume presented are the most important documents confirm- ing the completion of the transition process from an authoritarian to a demo- cratic system in three states that belong to the former Eastern Bloc – Estonia, Georgia, and Poland. The goal of showing the broadest possible spectrum of the political transformation process in the abovementioned area was the basis for selection. Apart from a number of common features of that process, the authors, above all, wanted to indicate the differences, which frequently are difficult to detect. Analysing a constitution, as the most important legal document, allows to conduct research on the fundaments of the political sys- 1 See S.P. Huntington, Trzecia fala demokratyzacji [Third Wave of Democratisa- tion], Warszawa 2009. 2 See J. Szczepański, Reformy, rewolucje, transformacje [Reforms, Revolutions, Transformations], Warszawa 1999. 6 INTRODUCTION tem of a state. A constitution is a document that establishes the fundamental rights, duties and freedoms of citizens, as well as the manner of appointing, organization, and functional framework of the most important institutions. Comparative research on the constitutions of Estonia, Georgia, and Poland leads to highlighting the aforementioned differences. The reason for such a result lies not only different courses of the political transformation process and different geopolitical conditions, but also in differences in the condition of societies and the history of those nations. The process of political transformation in the states of the former Eastern Bloc started with the fall of the USSR. One should emphasize, however, that in some countries transformations were initiated as early as in the 1980s due to implementing certain elements of the capitalist system and increasing the influences of the opposition. Yet, the introduction of a complete transi- tion could take place only after the communist parties were removed from power. As the most important transformations of the political and economic systems one should mention especially: changing the one-party system to a multiparty system, adopting the principle of absolute division of power into legislative, executive, and judicial, reforming the parliamentary system, conducting the process of privatization of state-owned business entities, con- ducting deregulation of financial instruments, and conducting a structural reform of the economy. The course of transition processes in most of the post-Soviet states was similar in spite of different time-frames and pace of implementing changes. In many entities of international law that emerged after the disintegration of the USSR, the process of political transformation has not been finished yet, while in others it is possible to observe a full passage from the authoritar- ian system to the democratic system. Nevertheless, all states contend with similar political, economic, and, most of all, social problems. Exactly those social problems became the most fundamental negative effect of the changes. One should also pay attention to such issues as degeneration of living condi- tions of a considerable number of citizens, massive unemployment, and the resulting social tensions, which in many cases lead to protests or strikes. In this context, it is extremely important to build a new political identity of the society, realised also with the use of the politics of memory. In Estonia, transformation processes began in 1988 with the establish- ment of the Popular Front of Estonia. As early as in 1989 social movements initiated the formation of civic committees, which engaged in activities INTRODUCTION 7 aimed at gaining the independence. On March 30 the Supreme Council of Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic initiated an interim period, during which the name the Republic of Estonia was restored and the Baltic Assembly was re-established. These actions allowed laying the ground for the transition, which began with the collapse of the Soviet Union and proclaiming inde- pendence on August 20, 1991, and ended on July 3, 1992, when the new con- stitution entered into force. As Estonia had been one of the most developed Soviet republics, the transition period was relatively short. The Constitution of Estonia refers back to the previously existing documents, but it is based on standards created by democratic states. Transformation of the political system in Georgia started in 1991 with the referendum on regaining independence. Independence tendencies had been consolidated during the process of perestroika that began in the pre- vious decade. The declaration of independence and the establishment of the Republic of Georgia took place on April 9, 1991. However, stability of the state was endangered by the internal conflict between the followers of Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Eduard Shevardnadze, as well as by the Georgian-Osset- ian War in 1991–1992 and the Georgian-Abkhasian War in 1992–1994. The process of the transition finished on August 24, 1995 when the Constitution of the Republic of Georgia was adopted. However, one should pay attention to the complicated course of the transformation processes which, as many researchers claim, were completed only during the Rose Revolution in 2003. The democratization and liberalization of Polish political system was a result of the 1989 Round Table Agreement between the communist gov- ernment and the democratic opposition, especially the Solidarity Trade Un- ion. The aftermath of the Agreement was the April Novelization of the 1952 Constitution of the People’s Republic of Poland, which resulted in the par- tially-free elections of June 4, 1989. The election success of the Solidarity-led opposition enabled the establishment of the first (post-WWII) pro-demo- cratic Polish government on September 12, 1989. The cabinet of Tadeusz Mazowiecki introduced a plan for democratization and the project of reform- ing the economy towards the free-market (the Sachs-Balcerowicz Plan). The semi-democratic period in Poland was concluded by the opposition leader Lech Wałęsa replacing the last communist leader General Wojciech Jaru- zelski in the role of the president in November 1990, and by the first fully democratic parliamentary elections in October 1991. In 1992, the Polish par- liament introduced consecutive constitutional amendments, known as the 8 INTRODUCTION Small Constitution of 1992, that have established democratic framework for Polish politics. The democratization process ended with the new Constitu- tion of Poland adopted on April 2, 1997, and was symbolically
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