Poland
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- republic
- CONSTITUTION
- adopted by the National Assembly on April 2, 1997, and confirmed by a referendum on May 25, 1997
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- a mixed system of continental (Napoleonic) elements and communist theory; gradual changes have been introduced as part of the democratization process
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral National Assembly, composed of the Senate and Sejm (lower house)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court (judges appointed by the Head of State on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, for an indefinite term); Constitutional Tribunal (judges chosen for nine years by the Sejm)
RELIGIONS
89.8% Catholics, 1.6% Protestants, other minorities
From the country
- MAY 11, 2002PolandDEATH PENALTY
Serial killer Yuri Ustimenko, was caught in Poland...
Serial killer Yuri Ustimenko, was caught in Poland earlier the week
- MAY 3, 2002PolandDEATH PENALTY
Poland signed Protocol 13 to the European Convention...
Poland signed Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which ensures the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances
- APRIL 25, 2002PolandDEATH PENALTY
Poland was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution...
Poland was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- MARCH 14, 2002PolandDEATH PENALTY
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski appealed to...
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski appealed to the Nigerian president to commute the death sentence of Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu
- JANUARY 1, 2002PolandDEATH PENALTY
A penal code introduced in 1998 replaced the death...
A penal code introduced in 1998 replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment, despite vocal campaigning by right-wing activists who pointed out that more than 60 percent of Poles support capital punishment for brutal murders
- AUGUST 23, 2001PolandDEATH PENALTY
A Public Opinion Research Centre poll revealed that...
A Public Opinion Research Centre poll revealed that sixty-six per cent of Poles are in favour of the restoration of the death penalty, 24 per cent are against and 10 per cent had no opinion on the matter
- MAY 16, 2001PolandDEATH PENALTY
The European Union Commission and ambassadors of Sweden...
The European Union Commission and ambassadors of Sweden and Belgium have appealed to the governor of Illinois to grant clemency to a Polish citizen awaiting the death sentence for the murder of a Chicago woman
- APRIL 25, 2001PolandDEATH PENALTY
A poll conducted by the CBS polling centre showed that...
A poll conducted by the CBS polling centre showed that social support for capital punishment had dropped from 77 percent in 2000 to 69 percent in the year 2001
- APRIL 25, 2001PolandDEATH PENALTY
Poland was a cosponsor and voted in favour of the resolution...
Poland was a cosponsor and voted in favour of the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 25, 2001
- APRIL 24, 2001PolandDEATH PENALTY
An April survey by the CBOS, the public polling institution,...
An April survey by the CBOS, the public polling institution, polled sixty-nine per cent of respondents in favour of having the death penalty restored, and 21 per cent against, whilst 10 per cent had no opinion on the subject
- JANUARY 28, 2001PolandDEATH PENALTY
Justice Minister Lech Kaczynski declared his "a staunch...
Justice Minister Lech Kaczynski declared his "a staunch support for the death penalty" and said he would be favourable to the re-introduction of capital punishment in Poland
- JANUARY 1, 2001PolandDEATH PENALTY
A penal code introduced in 1998 replaced the death...
A penal code introduced in 1998 replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment, despite vocal campaigning by right-wing activists who pointed out that more than 60 percent of Poles support capital punishment for brutal murders