Democratic Government in Poland Constitutional Politics since 1989 George Sanford Democratic Government in Poland Also by George Sanford POLISH COMMUNISM IN CRISIS MILITARY RULE IN POLAND: The Rebuilding of Communist Power 1981–1983 THE SOLIDARITY CONGRESS, 1981 DEMOCRATIZATION IN POLAND, 1988–90: Polish Voices POLAND: World Bibliographical Series (with A. Gozdecka-Sanford) HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF POLAND (with A. Gozdecka-Sanford) BUILDING DEMOCRACY: The International Dimension of Democratization in Eastern Europe (with G. Pridham and E. Herring) POLAND: The Conquest of History Democratic Government in Poland Constitutional Politics since 1989 George Sanford Reader in Politics University of Bristol © George Sanford 2002 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2002 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the new global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. 0–333–77475–2 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sanford, George. Democratic government in Poland : constitutional politics since 1989 / George Sanford, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–333-77475–2 (cloth) 1. Poland–Politics and government–1989– 2. Contitutional history–Poland. I. Title. JN6760 .S26 2002 320.9438–dc21 2002020059 10987654321 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Anthony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne Contents List of Tables vii List of Abbreviations viii Preface xiii Chronology xv 1 The Constitution and History 1 Poland’s quest for security and modernization 1 Historical traditions and constitutional values 4 The effects of foreign rule and war on state institutions 10 Constitutions and political frameworks 11 The usable past of Polish constitutionalism 15 2 The Communist Experience and Legacy 24 The debate on the Polish People’s Republic 24 The communist party-state in Poland 27 The significance of communist constitutionalism 31 Judgement on the PRL (Polish People’s Republic) 39 3 Democratic Transition and Consolidation 50 The constitutional abdication of communism 50 The controlled transition in practice 56 The consolidation of democracy 60 4 Constitution Making and Consensus Building 74 National sovereignty and citizenship 74 Constitutional engineering and institution building 76 The politics of the temporary: writing the Little Constitution 80 Towards the 1997 constitution 85 The April 1997 constitution 91 5 Parliament and Democratic Politics 103 Organization, functioning and composition of the Sejm 105 Deputies 110 Legislation 115 Debates and plenary sessions 120 Committees 120 Parliamentary control of government 123 Organization, functioning and composition of the Senate 124 Rationalized parliamentarianism? 128 v vi Contents 6 The Executive: Dual or Fragmented? 138 The presidency 138 Formation, dismissal and accountability of governments 147 The Council of Ministers 151 The emergence of the prime minister 155 Mechanisms of coalition government 157 From Office of the Council of Ministers (URM) to cabinet office 162 Ministries 164 What sort of executive in Poland? 166 7 Government and the Mechanisms of Representation 173 Electoral framework 173 Presidential elections 176 Sejm elections 183 Senate elections 188 Local government elections 188 Dynamics and political consequences of voting behaviour 190 Party system and government 192 8 The Active Constitution in Practice 208 The constitutional and state tribunals 208 Organs of state control and rights protection 216 The Lustration Act and process 219 9 Conclusion: the Polish Constitution as a Framework for Democracy 230 Bibliography 236 Index 247 List of Tables 5.1 Polish deputies by gender 111 5.2 Polish deputies by age 111 5.3 Number of Sejm terms sat by Polish deputies on election 112 5.4 Polish deputies by education 112 5.5 Polish deputies by occupation 113 5.6 Source of legislative initiative 117 5.7 The work of the Sejm 119 5.8 Sejm committees 122 5.9 Political composition of the Senate 126 5.10 The work of the Senate 127 5.11 Political composition of the Sejm 130 5.12 Party control of the Sejm 131 6.1 Duration and type of government 150 6.2 Size and composition of the Council of Ministers 154 6.3 Party composition of governments 159 7.1 Presidential election of 25 November–9 December 1990 178 7.2 Presidential election of 5–19 November 1995 180 7.3 Presidential election of 8 October 2000 182 7.4 Percentage of votes and seats and number of seats gained in Sejm elections of 1991, 1993, 1997 and 2001 184 7.5 Size of party membership 194 vii List of Abbreviations AK Armia Krajowa/Home Army AWS Akcja Wyborcza ‘Solidarno´s´c’/Electoral Action Solidarity AWS-RS Akcja Wyborcza ‘Solidarno´s´c’–Ruch Spol⁄ eczny/Electoral Action Solidarity–Social Action BBN Biuro Bezpiecze´nstwo Narodowego/National Security Bureau BBWR Bezpartyjny Blok Wspierania Reform/Non-Party Bloc for Supporting the Reforms BdP Blok dla Polski/Bloc for Poland BSiE Biuro Studiów i Expertyz/Bureau of Studies and Reports (Analyses), Sejm Chancellery CAP Common Agricultural Policy CBOS Centrum Badania Opinia Spol⁄ ecznej/Centre for the Study of Public Opinion CDIIIRP Chrze´scia´nska Demokracja III RP/Christian Democracy of the Third Republic COMECON Council on Mutual Economic Assistance CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union CUP Centralny Urz ad˛ Planowania/Central Planning Office EBRD European Bank for Research and Development EU European Union FDP Forum Prawicy Demokratycznej/Forum of the Democratic Right FJN Front Jedno´sci Narodowej/National Unity Front GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDP Gross Domestic Product GKBZpNP Gl⁄ ówna Komisja Badania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu/Main Commission for Investigating Crimes against the Polish Nation GUC Gl⁄ ówny Urz ad˛ Ce⁄l/Main Customs’ Board GUS Gl⁄ ówny Urz ad˛ Statystyczny/Main Statistical Office IFiS Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii/Institute of Philosophy and Sociology IMF International Monetary Fund IPN Instytut Pami˛eci Narodowej/Institute of National Memory ISP Instytut Studiów Politycznych/Institute of Political Studies KAW Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza/National Publishing Agency KIE Komisja Integracji Europejskiej/Committee on European Integration viii List of Abbreviations ix KERM Komitetet Ekonomiczny Rada Ministrów/Economic Commit- tee of the Council of Ministers KiW Ksi a˙˛zka i Wiedza/Book and Knowledge Publishers KL-D Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny/Liberal-Democratic Congress KO Komitet Obywatelski/Civic Committee KOK Komitet Obrony Kraju/National Defence Committee KOR Komitet Obrony Robotników/Workers’ Defence Committee KPEiR Krajowa Partia Emeritów i Rencistów/National Party of the Retired and Pensioners KPEiRRP Krajowa Partia Emeritów i Rencistów/National Party of the Retired and Pensioners of the Polish Republic KPN Konfederacja Polski Niepodlegl⁄ ej/Confederation for an Independent Poland KPP Komunistyczna Partia Polski/Communist Party of Poland KRN Krajowa Rada Narodowa/National Council for the Homeland KRRiTV Krajowa Rada Radiofonii Telewizji/National Council on Radio and Television KRRRM Komitet Rozwoju Regionalnego RM/Committee for Regional Development of the Council of Ministers KRS Krajowa Rada Sadownictwa/National ˛ Council for the Judiciary KSAP Krajowa Szkol⁄ a Administracji Publicznej/National School for Public Administration KSZpNP Komisja Scigania´ Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu/ Commission for Investigating Crimes against the Polish Nation KSORM Komitet Spraw Obronnych Rady Ministrów/Committee on Defence Questions of the Council of Ministers KSRM Komitet Spól⁄ eczny Rady Ministrów/Social Committee of the Council of Ministers KUL Katolicki Uniwersytet w Lublinie/Catholic University in Lublin LOK Liga Obrony Kraju/League for the Defence of the Country LRP Liga Rodzin Polskich/League of Polish Families MON Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej/Ministry of National Defense MSW Ministerstwo Spraw Wewn˛etrznych/Ministry of the Interior MSZ Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych/Ministry of Foreign Affairs NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NBP Narodowy Bank Polski/National Bank of Poland NFOS Narodowy Fundusz Ochrony Srodowisku/National´ Fund for Environmental Protection NIK Najwy˙zsza Izba Kontroli/Supreme Control Chamber x List of Abbreviations NSZ Narodowe Sil⁄ y Zbrojne/National Armed Forces OECD Organization for Economic