A priori veto power of the president of Poland

Introduction. In Poland, in the process of legislation, any bill accepted by the Sejm (the lower chamber of the Polish parliament) is considered by the Senate, which may accept, amend or reject a bill. If a bill is amended or rejected by the Senate, then it goes back to the Sejm. The Sejm may, by absolute majority, reject the senate’s objection. After that, a bill accepted by the Sejm goes to the president of Poland who can within 21 days accept and sign a bill or may declare his veto and send a bill back to the Sejm. The presidential veto is considered as a cognizable attribute of the president regarding any bill resolved by parliament. According to the Constitutional Act, the president signs and declares a bill in the official monitor (gazette). In the case of important state interests or poor quality of constituted law, the president may reject a bill. Presidential rejection of a bill (veto) has a conditional character: the Sejm may accept a bill once more by a majority of 3/5 of votes in the presence of at least half of the members of the Sejm (representatives). In this case, the president has to sign a bill within seven days and publish the bill in the official monitor. The real effectiveness of the president’s veto is therefore strongly subordinated to the present structure of parties in the Sejm. Another way for the president to stop the legislation process is by sending an unsigned bill to the Constitutional Court asking it to establish a bill’s conformity to the Constitutional Act. If the Constitutional Court declares the bill’s conformity to the Constitutional Act, the president must sign it and may not declare his/her veto against it.