Constitution of the Republic of Poland | |
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Overview | |
Jurisdiction | Poland |
Ratified | 2 April 1997 |
Date effective | 17 October 1997 |
System | Unitary parliamentary constitutional representative democratic republic |
Government structure | |
Branches | 3 |
Head of state | President |
Chambers | |
Executive |
|
Judiciary | |
Federalism | Unitary |
Electoral college | No |
Last amended | 21 October 2009 |
Author(s) | Komisja Konstytucyjna Zgromadzenia Narodowego |
Signatories | Aleksander Kwaśniewski |
Supersedes | Small Constitution of 1992 |
Full text | |
Constitution of the Republic of Poland at Wikisource |
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland[1] (Polish: Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej or Konstytucja RP for short) is the supreme law of the Republic of Poland, which is also commonly called the Third Polish Republic (Polish: III Rzeczpospolita or III RP for short) in contrast with the preceding systems.
The current constitution was ratified on 2 April 1997. The Constitution is also commonly referred to as the 1997 Constitution. It replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, a revision of the 1952 Constitution of the Polish People's Republic. It was adopted by the National Assembly of Poland on 2 April 1997, approved by a national referendum on 25 May 1997, promulgated by the President of the Republic on 16 July 1997, and came into force on 17 October 1997.
Poland (and its predecessor states) have had numerous constitutions throughout history; the 1505 Nihil novi was one of the first European constitutional acts. Historically, the most significant is the Constitution of 3 May 1791.[2]