e Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952; new
democratic Constitution being drafted
Legal system:
mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist
legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader
democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Lech WALESA (since 22 December 1990); election first round
held 25 November 1990, second round held 9 December 1990 (next to be
held NA November 1995); results - second round Lech WALESA 74.7%,
Stanislaw TYMINSKI 25.3%
head of government:
Prime Minister Waldemar PAWLAK (since 26 October 1993)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; responsible to the president and the Sejm
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe)
Senate (Senat):
elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than
NA October 1997); seats - (100 total)
post-Solidarity bloc:
UW 6, NSZZ 12, BBWR 2
non-Communist, non-Solidarity:
independents 7, unaffiliated 1, vacant 1 (to be filled in a 19 June
election)
Communist origin or linked:
PSL 34, SLD 37
Diet (Sejm):
elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than
NA October 1997); seats - (460 total)
post-Solidarity bloc:
UW 74, UP 41, BBWR 16
non-Communist, non-Solidarity:
KPN 22
Communist origin or linked:
SLD 171, PSL 132
note:
4 seats were won by ethnic Germans
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
post-Solidarity parties:
Freedom Union (WD; UD and Liberal Democratic Congress merged to form
Freedom Union), Tadeusz MAZOWIECKI; Christian-National Union (ZCHN),
Wieslaw CHRZANOWSKI; Centrum (PC), Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI; Peasant
Alliance (PL), Gabriel JANOWSKI; Solidarity Trade Union (NSZZ), Marian
KRZAKLEWSKI; Union of Labor (UP), Ryszard BUGAJ; Christian-Democratic
Party (PCHD), Pawel LACZKOWSKI; Conservative Party, Alexander HALL;
Nonparty Bloc for the Support of the Reforms (BBWR)
non-Communist, non-Solidarity:
Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), Leszek MOCZULSKI;
Polish Economic Program (PPG), Janusz REWINSKI; Christian Democrats
(CHD), Andrzej OWSINSKI; German Minority (MN), Henryk KROL; Union of
Real Politics (UPR), Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE; Democratic Party (SD),
Antoni MACKIEWICZ; Party X, Stanis