The April Constitution of Poland ( or ''Konstytucja kwietniowa'') was the general law passed by the act of the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

on 23 April 1935. It established a

presidential system A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...

in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

with strong executive powers. The adoption of the constitution did not fully adhere to the procedures outlined in the previous March Constitution of 1921 or the parliamentary rules of procedure, leading to objections from parts of the opposition to the ''

Sanacja Sanation (, ) was a Polish political movement that emerged in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May Coup (Poland), May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and gained influence following the coup. In 1928, its political activists went on to fo ...

'' government.

Summary

The act introduced the idea that the state is a

common good In philosophy, Common good (economics), economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, common weal, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, o ...

of all citizens. It adjusted the balance of power by limiting the authority of the

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

while strengthening the role of the

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

. The President was granted significant executive powers, described as holding "single and indivisible state power," and was stated to be responsible "only to God and history." The government, parliament, armed forces, courts, and oversight bodies were placed under his authority. The election of the President took place through a special Assembly of Electors, consisting of 80 members, including five of the highest state officials, 50 electors chosen from among members of the Sejm, and 25 from the Senate. The President had the right to propose his own candidate for the office. His term lasted seven years, and he held the power to appoint and dismiss government members, who were accountable both to him and to the parliament. Additionally, the President could dissolve parliament before the end of its term, appoint a third of the senators, the commander-in-chief of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

, and the General Inspector of the Armed Forces.Seidner, Stanley S. ''Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz Rydz and the Defense of Poland'', New York, 1978. He also had the authority to issue

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

s and

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

legislation passed by the Sejm. One of the notable provisions of the constitution was the President's right to designate a successor in the event of war, which later served as the legal basis for the continuity of the

Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovere ...

during and after World War II. The constitution was officially nullified on 22 July 1944 by the

Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation ( Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...

through their

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

, which temporarily reinstated the March Constitution before the adoption of the socialist constitution in 1952. The government-in-exile continued to operate under the April Constitution until December 1990, when it transferred its authority to

Lech Walesa Lech is an English word referring to lecherous Lascivious behavior is sexual behavior or conduct that is considered crude and offensive, or contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. In this sense, "lascivious" is similar ...

following his election as Poland's first noncommunist president in 46 years.

References

*
Full text of April Constitution.
Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu

External links

1935 in law 1935 in Poland Constitutions of Poland Poland, 1935 Legal history of Poland 1935 documents {{constitution-stub

Summary

See also

References

External links