Poland marks 20 years of parliamentary vote for constitution
Sunday marked 20 years since Poland’s lawmakers adopted the country's constitution.
The constitution was passed by the National Assembly, or both houses of parliament, on April 2, 1997, after being approved by citizens in a referendum and signed by the president.
The constitutional referendum was held on May 25, with 52.71 percent of citizens voting in favour of the new constitution and 45.89 percent voting against, while the turnout was 42.86 percent. President Aleksander Kwasniewski signed the constitution into law on July 16. It took effect on Oct. 17, 1997.
The constitution begins with a preamble that refers to Poland’s Christian traditions and reads: "Having regard for the existence and future of our Homeland, which recovered, in 1989, the possibility of a sovereign and democratic determination of its fate, we, the Polish Nation - all citizens of the Republic, both those who believe in God as the source of truth, justice, good and beauty, as well as those not sharing such faith but respecting those universal values as arising from other sources, equal in rights and obligations towards the common good - Poland, beholden to our ancestors for their labours, their struggle for independence achieved at great sacrifice, for our culture rooted in the Christian heritage of the Nation and in universal human values, recalling the best traditions of the First and the Second Republic, ... mindful of the bitter experiences of the times when fundamental freedoms and human rights were violated in our Homeland ... recognizing our responsibility before God or our own consciences, hereby establish this Constitution of the Republic of Poland as the basic law for the State ..."
The preamble ends with the statement: "We call upon all those who will apply this Constitution for the good of the Third Republic to do so paying respect to the inherent dignity of the person, his or her right to freedom, the obligation of solidarity with others, and respect for these principles as the unshakeable foundation of the Republic of Poland".
Under the constitution, the Republic of Poland is "the common good of all its citizens" and "a democratic state ruled by law and implementing the principles of social justice".
In another milestone, Poland is preparing to mark the anniversary of its first, historic constitution of May 3, 1791, which historians say was the first democratic constitution in Europe and the second in the world, after the Constitution of the United States dated 1787. (PAP)
gs/
