How laws are passed

Under the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the entities entitled to exercise the right of legislative initiative (sponsors of bills) are the President of the Republic of Poland, the Council of Ministers, the Senate, deputies and a group of at least 100,000 citizens.

Depending on who exercises the right of legislative initiative, a bill is referred to as a presidential, government, Senate, deputies’, committee or citizens’ bill.

A bill may amend an Act currently in force or propose a new Act that will replace an existing Act or regulate matters not previously regulated by law.

The procedure for dealing with a bill that has been submitted to the Sejm, i.e. the legislative procedure in the Sejm, is governed by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm. The Sejm considers a bill in three readings. The sponsor of the bill, deputies and the Council of Ministers are entitled to propose amendments to the bill while it is under consideration by the Sejm.

The first reading usually takes place at a meeting of the competent Sejm committee or committees. However, the first reading of bills to amend the Constitution, budget bills, tax bills, bills concerning elections to the office of President of the Republic, the Sejm and the Senate and to local government bodies, bills governing the organisation and jurisdiction of public authorities, as well as codes, takes place at a sitting of the Sejm.

During the first reading, a representative of the sponsor presents the bill to the deputies and explains the reasons why it should be passed. The deputies then debate the general principles of the bill and put questions concerning the bill to the sponsor.

Where the first reading takes place at a sitting of the Sejm, it concludes with the bill being referred to the competent Sejm committee or committees for consideration, unless the Sejm decides to reject the bill in its entirety without referring it to a committee.

If a bill has been referred to more than one Sejm committee, the committees consider it jointly. Consideration of the bill involves a detailed examination of the bill and the preparation of the committee’s position on it. The committee’s position on the bill is set out in its report.

In their report, the committees recommend:

• adoption of the bill without amendments;
• adoption of the bill with specified amendments, in the form of a consolidated text of the bill;
• rejection of the bill.

The Sejm committees select a rapporteur from among their members to present the committee report on the bill at the second reading.

The second reading takes place at a plenary sitting of the Sejm. It includes the presentation of the committee report on the bill to the Sejm, followed by a debate and the submission of amendments and motions. The sponsor has the right to withdraw the bill until the end of the second reading.

If amendments or motions concerning the bill are submitted during the second reading, the bill is referred back to the committees that considered it so that they can prepare a supplementary report.

In the supplementary report, the committees recommend the adoption or rejection of the amendments or motions. If the bill is not referred back to committee during the second reading, the Sejm may proceed immediately to the third reading.

The third reading takes place at a plenary sitting of the Sejm. It includes the presentation of the supplementary committee report (by the rapporteur) and voting.

Voting takes place in the following order:

• a vote on a motion to reject the bill in its entirety, if such a motion has been submitted;
• votes on amendments to individual articles, if any such amendments have been submitted;
• a vote on the bill as a whole, in the wording proposed by the committees, incorporating the changes resulting from the amendments adopted.

The Sejm takes decisions by vote, including the passage of a bill, by a simple majority in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of deputies.

Once passed by the Sejm, the bill becomes an Act. The Marshal of the Sejm then transmits the Act to the Senate.

The procedure for considering an Act in the Senate is governed by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Rules of Procedure of the Senate.

Within 30 days of receiving an Act, the Senate may adopt it without amendments, adopt amendments to it or adopt a resolution rejecting the Act in its entirety. If the Senate does not adopt an appropriate resolution within that period, the Act is deemed to have been adopted in the wording passed by the Sejm.

The Marshal of the Senate refers the Act to the competent Senate committee. An Act may be referred to more than one Senate committee. The committee considers the Act and, within no more than 18 days, prepares a draft Senate resolution on the Act, in which it proposes:

• adoption of the Act without amendments;
• amendments to the text of the Act;
• rejection of the Act.

The committee includes the draft Senate resolution on the Act in its report.

The Senate then considers the Act at a plenary sitting. Consideration of the Act by the Senate includes the presentation by the rapporteur of the recommendations contained in the committee report, the presentation of the Act by a representative of the sponsor of the bill, and a debate. During the debate, senators may submit amendments and motions concerning the Act.

If amendments or motions concerning the Act are submitted during the debate, the Act is referred back to the committees that considered it so that they can prepare a supplementary report.

The Senate takes a decision on the Act by vote at a plenary sitting, after the debate has been closed or, where an amendment or motion has been submitted during the debate, after the committee rapporteur has presented the supplementary report. Voting takes place in the following order:

1. a vote on a motion to reject the Act;
2. a vote on a motion to adopt the Act without amendments;
3. votes on amendments to individual articles;
4. a vote to adopt the Act as a whole, incorporating the changes resulting from the amendments adopted.

The Senate takes decisions by a simple majority in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of senators. The Marshal of the Senate transmits the Senate resolution concerning the Act to the Marshal of the Sejm.

The Marshal of the Sejm refers the Senate resolution concerning the Act to the competent Sejm committees that considered the bill, so that they can prepare a report on the Senate resolution. In their report, the committees recommend to the Sejm a position on the Senate resolution.

The Sejm considers the Senate resolution at a plenary sitting.

The Sejm may reject the Senate resolution by an absolute majority in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of deputies. If it does not do so, the Senate’s position is deemed to have been accepted.

Once the legislative procedure in Parliament has been completed, the Marshal of the Sejm submits the Act to the President of the Republic of Poland for signature.

As a rule, the President signs the Act within 21 days and orders its publication in the Journal of Laws. Publication of the Act is a prerequisite for its entry into force (i.e. for the Act to become legally binding). The Act enters into force on the date specified therein.

The President may refuse to sign the Act and refer it back to the Sejm with a reasoned request for reconsideration (the so-called presidential veto), or may apply to the Constitutional Tribunal for a ruling on the Act’s conformity with the Constitution (the so-called preventive constitutional review).

If the Constitutional Tribunal:

• rules that the Act conforms to the Constitution, the President may not refuse to sign it;
• rules that the Act as a whole is incompatible with the Constitution, the President refuses to sign it;
• rules that only certain provisions of the Act are incompatible with the Constitution and that those provisions are not inseparably connected with the Act as a whole, the President signs the Act without those provisions or refers the Act back to the Sejm for the incompatibility to be remedied.

If the President exercises the right of veto, the final decision on the Act rests with the Sejm. The Sejm may pass the Act again by a three-fifths majority in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of deputies (the so-called overriding of the presidential veto). In such a case, the President signs the Act within seven days.

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland provides for the following departures from the ordinary legislative procedure:

• a bill declared urgent;
• a Budget Bill;
• a bill to amend the Constitution;
• a bill consenting to the ratification by the President of an international agreement under which an international organisation or international body is delegated the competence of organs of State authority in relation to certain matters.