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Poland has one of the oldest parliamentary traditions in the world. Already in the 15th century, the Polish gentrygentrygentry had the right to elect representatives to the Sejm and thusthusthus decide on the most important matters of the state.

Who is eligibleeligibleeligible to elect deputies and senators in Poland?

Who is eligible to be elected as a deputy or a senator?

The rules of elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Internal organization of the Sejm and the Senate

Deputies may form parliamentary clubs and deputies’ groups based on a political principle in the Sejm. The club is composed of at least 15 deputies, and a group – of at least 3 deputies.

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Infografika, która składa się z logo Sejmu po lewej stronie oraz Senatu po prawej. Logo Sejmu to graficzne, uproszczone przedstawienie dachu Sejmu z powiewającą nad nim flagą Polski. Pod nim znajduje się napis "Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej". Litera "j" w słowie "Sejm" to zwisająca biało-czerwona flaga. Nad logotypem znajduje się napis "Sejm bodies", wokół niego znajdują się następujące treści "The Marshal of the Sejm, Presidium of the Sejm, Council of Elders, Committees of the Sejm". Logo Senatu składające się z orła w koronie, który opleciony jest literą "S". Pod nim znajduje się napis "Senat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej". Nad logotypem znajduje się napis "Senate bodies" i umieszczono wokół niego następujące treści "The Marshal of the Senate, Presidium of the Senate, Council of Elders, Committees of the Senate".

Organs of the Sejm

The Marshal of the Sejm is elected at the first sitting of the chamber. Usually, this function is offered to a representative of the largest parliamentary club. The Marshal defends the rights and dignity of the Sejm, represents the chamber in relations with other state organs, convenesto conveneconvenes the sittings of the Sejm and presides over the debates. In addition, the Constitution of the Republic of Poland imposesto imposeimposes some responsibilities on the Marshal that are not directly related to the work of the chamber. These include acting as the President of the Republic when he is unable to hold office or when the office of President is vacatedvacatedvacated (e.g. because of the death of the President).

The Presidium of the Sejm is composed of the Marshal and Deputy Marshal of the Sejm. The competences of the Presidium of the Sejm are quite limited. They are mainly connected with the organization of the work of the Sejm and its organs.

The Council of Elders consists of the Marshal, deputy marshals, presidents or vice presidents of the parliamentary clubs, as well as representatives of the deputies’ groups. The Council is an advisoryadvisoryadvisory body of the Sejm of a consultativeconsultativeconsultative nature.

The Committees of the Sejm are subsidiarysubsidiarysubsidiary organs of the Sejm which deal with the consideration, giving opinions and preparation of the matters that are the subject of the debates if the Sejm.

The internal organization of the Senate is almost identical to the Sejm.

You can read more about the organization of the Sejm and about the Senate on the website. English versions available.

Functions of the parliament

The legislative function consists in adoption of legal acts (statutes). This is the basic and most important function of the Sejm and the Senate.

The scrutinyscrutinyscrutiny function refers primarilyprimarilyprimarily to the government and administration subordinate tosubordinate tosubordinate to the government. The deputies may demand information on a given issue from a government member in written or oral form at a sitting of the Sejm of committee. As a consequence of assessment of the government’s functioning measures can be taken by the Sejm such as dismissaldismissaldismissal of an individual from a state post, e.g. a minister in consequence of a vote on non‑confidence. The Senate does not participate in the scrutiny function.

The creative (formative) function consists in appointing other constitutional organs of the state or persons who are members of such bodies. The powers in this respect are divided between the Sejm and the Senate, although the lower chamber has larger competence.

The European function of the parliament (since 2004) consists in the possibility of the Sejm and the Senate to influence EU legislation and is regulated in EU treaties.

To carry out parliamentary mandate it is very important to guarantee the independence of deputies and senators. To this end, all the members of Polish parliament enjoy the so‑calledso‑calledso‑called immunity.

The Sejm and the Senate are constitutional bodies of legislative power. Both chambers are elected by universal suffrage. The elections take place on the same day, but according to different electoral systems. The internal organization of both chambers and the legal status of deputies and senators are virtuallyvirtuallyvirtually identical. Taking into account the legislative and creative functions, competences belong to both chambers. However, the lower chamber has a stronger position. The biggest difference is in the control function. Competences in this area belong exclusivelyexclusivelyexclusively to the Sejm.

Keywords

the Sejm, the Senate, deputy, senator, parliamentary club, deputies’ group, the Marshal, the Presidium, the Council of Elders, committees, legislative/scrutiny/European function of the parliament, formal/material immunity, vote on non‑confidence

Glossary