The Parliament of Poland is the bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the 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 (impeachment). The largest party in the Sejm is Law and Justice (PiS) 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 (speaker) of each. Senators and deputies are equipped with voting devices.

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 (, () which are the entire party groups of the elected, where none have splintered away or defected to another ) 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 (or by the Marshal of the Senate when the former is absent).Constitution of the Republic of Poland, Article 114

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 (by a majority vote of at least two-thirds of the statutory number of members),Article 131(2)(4) bring an indictment against the president to the State Tribunal (by a majority of at least two-thirds of the statutory number of members, on the motion of at least 140 members),Article 145(2) adopt its own rules of procedure.Article 114

The National Assembly is also called in order to: receive the president's oath of office,Article 130 hear a presidential address (however, the president may choose to deliver his address to either the Sejm or the Senate).Article 140

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 (as president of the Assembly of Electors), 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.

Current standings

Sejm Club LeaderParties Seats Status Law and JusticeMariusz Błaszczak Law and Justice179 rowspan="4" Renewal of the Republic of Poland6 Independent 3Total seats188 Civic CoalitionZbigniew Konwiński Civic Platform125 rowspan="8" Modern 10 The Greens 3 Polish Initiative 2 Yes! For Poland 2 AGROunia 1 Independent 13Total seats157 Poland 2050Paweł Śliz Poland 205030 Polish People's PartyPiotr Zgorzelski Polish People's Party28 rowspan="4" Centre for Poland 3 Independent 1Total seats32 The LeftAnna Maria Żukowska New Left 18 rowspan="3" Independent3Total seats21 ConfederationGrzegorz Płaczek New Hope8 rowspan="4" National Movement7 Independent 1Total seats16Left TogetherMarcelina ZawiszaLeft Together 5 Free Republicans Marek Jakubiak Kukiz'153rowspan="3" Freedom and Prosperity1Total seats4Confederation of the Polish CrownWłodzimierz SkalikConfederation of the Polish Crown 3 Independent — Independent 4 Total460

Senate Club LeaderParties Seats Status Civic CoalitionTomasz Grodzki Civic Platform36 rowspan="4" Yes! For Poland 1 Independent 5Total seats42 Law and JusticeStanisław Karczewski Law and Justice30 rowspan="3" Independent 4Total seats34 Third WayWaldemar Pawlak Poland 20505 rowspan="6" Polish People's Party4 Centre for Poland 1 Union of European Democrats 1 Independent 1Total seats12 The LeftAnna GórskaMaciej Kopiec New Left 4 rowspan="5" Labour Union 1 Polish Socialist Party 1Independent2Total seats8New PolandZygmunt FrankiewiczNew Poland3 Independent— Independent 1Total100

Notes

References