Political Tradition in Polish Constitutional Thought in the 20th Century: A Historico-Legal Perspective
Political Tradition in Polish Constitutional Thought in the 20th Century: A Historico-Legal Perspective

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Discussion of the process of implementation of the Polish political tradition from the period of the First and Second Polish Republic during the work on the currently if force constitution. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The main research problem was to determine to what extent the political tradition influenced and continues to influence the process of shaping fundamental rights, with the regards of the twentieth-century Polish basic law. Therefore, the text draws on historico-legal and comparative methods with the elements of constitutional analysis sensu largo THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The starting point was to present the methodological assumptions of the text, with the emphasis on the specificity of the source. The whole analysis is divided into three main parts. The first one outlines the scope of the native political tradition based on the model proposed by Stanisław Kutrzeba. The next part of the text is devoted to the presentation of the Polish political axiology and its place in the Polish twentieth-century constitutions. The last part focused on the depiction of the institutional tradition of the state and its impact on the formation of the political system during work on the current constitution. RESEARCH RESULTS: As a result of the comparative analysis, it can be concluded that the main axes of political conflicts in the 20th century in Poland have changed slightly. Despite the progressive elements resulting from the influence of contemporary politico-legal thought, the Constitution of 1997 bears relation with the Polish political tradition, primarily in the axiological sphere. The catalogue of rules in spite of its shift towards the liberal model, remains similar. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The Constitution of 2 April 1997, in the formal dimension (nomenclature and institutions), refers to the political tradition of the First and Second Polish Republics. However, in terms of axiology, it constitutes a transition from the community model to the individualistic one.

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