Poland 1997 Constitution (reviewed 2009) - Page 14 of 14

Table of Contents

Chapter XIII. FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Article 236

Within a period of 2 years from the day on which the Constitution comes into force, the Council of Ministers shall present to the Sejm such bills as are necessary for the implementation of the Constitution.
Statutes bringing Article 176 para. 1 into effect, to the extent relevant to proceedings before administrative courts, shall be adopted before the end of 5 years from the day on which the Constitution comes into force. The provisions relating to extraordinary review of judgments by the Chief Administrative Court shall remain in effect until the entry into force of such statutes.

Article 237

Within the 4-year period following the coming into force of this Constitution, cases of misdemeanours shall be heard and determined by the Boards for Adjudication of Misdemeanours attached to district courts, but the punishment of arrest may be imposed only by a court.
Appeals from a judgment of a Board shall be considered by a court.

Article 238

The term of office of constitutional organs of public power and the individuals composing them, whether elected or appointed before the coming into force of the Constitution, shall end with the completion of the period specified in provisions valid before the day on which the Constitution comes into force.
In the event that provisions valid prior to the entry into force of the Constitution do not specify any such term of office, and from the election or appointment there has expired a period longer than that specified in the Constitution, the constitutional term of office of organs of public power or individuals composing them shall end one year after the day on which the Constitution comes into force.
If provisions valid before to the entry into force of the Constitution do not specify any such term of office, and from the day of election or appointment there has expired a period shorter than that specified in the Constitution, the time for which such organs or individuals shall serve in accordance with existing provisions shall be included in the term of office specified in the Constitution.

Article 239

Within 2 years of the day on which the Constitution comes into force a judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of the non-conformity to the Constitution of statutes adopted before its coming into force shall not be final and shall be required to be considered by the Sejm which may reject the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal by a two-third majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of Deputies. The foregoing provision shall not concern judgments issued in response to questions of law submitted to the Constitutional Tribunal.
Proceedings in cases to formulate a universally binding interpretation of statutes by the Constitutional tribunal instituted before the coming into force of the Constitution, shall be discontinued.
On the day on which the Constitution comes into force, resolutions of the Constitutional Tribunal on interpretation of statutes shall lose their universally binding force, but final judgments of the courts and other final decisions made by organs of public authority whilst taking into account the meaning of provisions as decided by the Constitutional Tribunal by way of universally binding interpretation of statutes, shall remain in force.

Article 240

Within one year of the day on which the Constitution comes into force, the Budget may allow for the covering of the budget deficit by contracting debt in the central bank of the State.

Article 241

International agreements, previously ratified by the Republic of Poland upon the basis of constitutional provisions valid at the time of their ratification and promulgated in Dziennik Ustaw, shall be considered as agreements ratified with prior consent granted by statute, and shall be subject to the provisions of Article 91 of the Constitution if their connection with the categories of matters mentioned in Article 89, para. 1 of the Constitution derives from the terms of an international agreement.
The Council of Ministers shall, within 2 years of the coming into force of the Constitution, present to the Sejm a list of international agreements containing provisions not in conformity to the Constitution.
Senators, elected before the day on which the Constitution comes into force, who have not attained 30 years of age, shall maintain their seats until the end of the term of office for which they were elected.
Joint holding of the mandate of a Deputy or Senator with a function or employment forbidden by Article 103, shall result in the expiry of the mandate after one month from the day on which the Constitution comes into force, unless the Deputy or Senator resigns from such function or such employment ceases.
Cases subject to legislative procedure or under consideration by the Constitutional Tribunal or the Tribunal of State, and which have been commenced before the coming into force of the Constitution, shall be conducted in accordance with the constitutional provisions valid on the day of the commencement thereof.
Within 2 years of the coming into force of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers shall identify which resolutions of the Council of Ministers and orders of ministers or other organs of government administration adopted or issued prior to the day on which the Constitution comes into force require, pursuant to the conditions specified in Article 87, para. 1 and Article 92 of the Constitution, are to be replaced by regulations issued upon the basis of statutes to be drafted and submitted, at the appropriate time, to the Sejm by the Council of Ministers. At the same time, the Council of Ministers shall submit to the Sejm a bill specifying those normative acts issued by the government administration before the day on which the Constitution comes into force which shall become resolutions or orders within the meaning of Article 93 of the Constitution.
Enactments of local law as well as provisions issued by communes shall become enactments of local law within the meaning of Article 87, para. 2 of the Constitution.

Article 242

The following are hereby repealed:

the Constitutional Act of 17th October 1992, on the Mutual Relations between the Legislative and Executive Institutions of the Republic of Poland and on Local Self-government (Dziennik Ustaw of 1992 No. 84, item 426; of 1995 No. 38, item 184, No. 150, item 729 as well as of 1996 No. 106, item 488);
the Constitutional Act of 23rd April 1992 on the Procedure for Preparing and Enacting a Constitution for the Republic of Poland (Dziennik Ustaw of 1992 No. 67, item 336; and of 1994 No. 61, item 251).