President Karol Nawrocki will use the celebrations of the National Third of May Holiday to initiate work on a new constitution. As early as Sunday, the first members of a special council tasked with preparing a draft of the basic law will be appointed.
On Sunday, President Karol Nawrocki will take part in ceremonies related to the National Third of May Holiday. As his spokesperson told Polsat News, the head of state will attend, among other events, a mass at St. John’s Archcathedral as well as a ceremony at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, where the awarding of the Order of the White Eagle and the appointment of another advisory council to the president are planned.
“On Constitution Day, May 3, we are beginning the process of creating the Council for a New Constitution. On that day, the first members of this council will be appointed,” Leśkiewicz announced.
Work to Begin
As he explained, the proposed composition of the body is to include representatives of parliamentary clubs and groups (two representatives from each club and one from each group), as well as experts and individuals representing different approaches to legal issues and the functioning of the state.
The newly established team is to prepare a draft of a new basic law – a promise the president made in his first address after taking office in August last year.
“These will not be meetings over coffee and cookies, but concrete, substantive work. That is why the president is inviting representatives of parliamentary clubs and groups, because this is, after all, a decision of a political nature. The constitution is, of course, the most important act, the basic law, but it must be developed within a certain political consensus,” the minister assessed.
Referring to concerns that the participation of representatives from various circles could lead to disputes, he emphasized that this is precisely what a transparent law-making process is about.
“That is exactly the point – for different views and opinions to clash. At the beginning, a brainstorming phase, then developing a joint draft, which will later, of course, be formally processed by the Polish parliament in accordance with the rules. A referendum is also needed – all of this is part of the work schedule,” he explained.
According to Leśkiewicz, work on the draft of the new constitution is to be completed before the end of the president’s term. In the near future, another advisory body is also to be established – the Council for Polonia and Poles Abroad.
Currently, fourteen councils operate under the president, serving as consultative and advisory bodies composed of experts from outside the administration.
