Parliament of Poland


The parliament of Poland is the bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house and a lower house. Both houses are accommodated in the [Sejm and Senate of Poland|Senate Complex of Poland|Sejm and Senate Complex] in Warsaw. The Constitution of Poland does not refer to the Parliament as a body, but only to the Sejm and Senate.
Members of both houses are elected by direct election, usually every four years. The Sejm has 460 members, while the Senate has 100 senators. To become law, a bill must first be approved by both houses, but the Sejm can override a Senate refusal to pass a bill.
On certain occasions, the Marshal of the Sejm summons the [|National Assembly], a joint session of the members of both houses. It is mostly ceremonial in nature, and it only convenes occasionally, such as to witness the inauguration of the President. Under exceptional circumstances, the constitution endows the National Assembly with great responsibilities and powers, such as to bring the President before the State Tribunal. The largest party in the Sejm is Law and Justice with 194 out of 460 seats in Sejm. Civic Coalition is leading in the Senate with 42 out of 100 seats. The two debating halls have designated seats for the deputies, senators and the single Marshal of each. Senators and deputies are equipped with voting devices.
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Parliamentary groups and affiliations

After election deputies and senators will remain or splinter into deputy or senatorial groupings, or have no affiliations and sit as "independents". In both chambers, there are two formal sizes of groups: Clubs and circles ). The primary difference between these is the degree of right to join and contribute to the relevant Seniors' Konwent, the procedural committee that determines the drafting of agendas and chamber workings.
In the Sejm,
  • Clubs consist of at least 15 deputies;
  • Groups consist of at least 3 deputies.
In the Senate,
  • Clubs consist of at least 7 senators;
  • Groups consist of at least 3 senators.

National Assembly

The National Assembly is the name of a joint sitting of the Sejm and the Senate. It is headed by the Marshal of the Sejm.
Under the Constitution of Poland the National Assembly has the authority to:
  • declare the President's permanent incapacity to exercise his duties due to the state of his health,
  • bring an indictment against the President to the State Tribunal,
  • adopt its own rules of procedure.
The National Assembly is also called in order to:
In the periods 1922-1935 and 1989-1990, it was this joint sitting which elected the President of the Republic of Poland by an absolute majority of votes. In and from 1935, it was replaced by an Assembly of Electors, which consisted of the Marshal of the Senate, the Marshal of the Sejm, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, the General Armed Forces Inspector, 50 electors elected by the Sejm, and 25 electors elected by the Senate. Because of World War II, Assembly of Electors has never been convened. After the war, the Senate was abolished in 1946 so in 1947 Bolesław Bierut was elected president only by the Sejm. There were no presidents from 1952 until 1989 when the Senate was restored and the National Assembly elected Wojciech Jaruzelski as President.
Since 1990, the President has been elected by the people. However, the President is still sworn in before the National Assembly, which is also the only organ which can declare the President's permanent incapacity to perform his duties, or bring an indictment against him before State Tribunal.
From 1992 to 1997, the National Assembly drafted and passed a new Constitution, which was approved by a national referendum on 25 May 1997.