Constitution of Poland
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland (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.
| Constitution of Poland | |
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A copy of the Constitution signed by candidates after the debate of 2 July, before the 2010 Polish presidential election, exhibited in the Sejm | |
| 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 |
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| Executive |
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| Judiciary |
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| 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 | |
Politics of Poland |
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| Part of a series on the politics and government of Poland |
| Constitutions and major statutes of Poland |
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The Constitution of Poland, which is in force, was ratified on 2 April 1997. The Constitution is also commonly referred to as the 1997 Constitution. It replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, the last amended version of the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic, known from December 1989 as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. 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 effect on 17 October 1997.
Poland has had numerous previous constitutional acts. Historically, the most significant is the Constitution of 3 May 1791.