Legal Eye: Presidential authority

In the ongoing political turf war, much of the posturing has centered on the extent of presidential authority, particularly with respect to Poland's foreign policy.

The Polish Constitution is responsible for division of power among various branches of government. It gives the President of the Republic of Poland authority in a number of areas. In all of these, the president may wield a significant amount of influence. The president serves as the highest representative of Poland, guarantees the continuity of state authority, acts as the implementation authority in the law-making process and protects and defends the Polish Constitution as well as the sovereignty and safety of Poland and its boundaries.

However, the Polish Constitution also attempts to balance powers between the various branches of government, including foreign policy.

Representing Poland abroad

When it comes to foreign policy, the Constitution enumerates many roles for the president. The most glamorous of all the duties is the president's role as Poland's ultimate representative. When heads of state come calling, it falls on the president to roll out the red carpet.

As Poland's representative in foreign affairs, the president appoints and dismisses ambassadors and diplomats representing Poland in other countries or international organizations. Similarly, he receives representatives of foreign nations and international organizations.

While all this would seem to argue for broad presidential authority in foreign affairs, the Constitution requires the president to cooperate with the prime minister and relevant ministers in foreign policy matters. The Constitution, after all, gives the Council of Ministers the job of conducting Poland's domestic and foreign policy.

Commander-in-chief

Fortunately, the current foreign policy tug-of-war regards influence in times of peace. However, in times of conflict the Constitution would allow the president to take the lead.

The president serves as the commander-in-chief of the Polish armed forces. As part of this role, he gets to appoint commanders  to numerous branches of the armed forces and chief of the general staff. As commander-in-chief, the president may declare a state of emergency or martial law. However, the Sejm is charged with declaring war or making peace. The president may only declare war if, for some reason, the Sejm is unable to assemble.

Laws

When it comes to shaping Polish law, the president has a couple of means to wield power. For one, the president holds the right to veto a bill or sign it into law. Also, the president signs and ratifies international treaties. As was seen in the recent debate on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the threat of a veto or refusal to sign  may be used to force changes in legislation.

Domestic decision makers

The president is responsible for appointing several key policy-makers. In this role, the president can play an active role in shaping Poland's future. Among others, the president appoints the prime minister, judges, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the chief justices and deputy-chief justices of the Constitutional Tribunal and of the Supreme Administrative Court, the members of the National Security Council and the members of the Broadcast Council. While the Sejm appoints the chair of the National Bank of Poland, the president chooses the candidate.

The Constitution grants the president a significant amount of power over both domestic and foreign policy. But it also contains some checks on that power and requires cooperation with other branches of government. For Poland's sake, let's hope that we will see more of this constitutional mandate of cooperation in the future.

Judith Gliniecki is a Partner with Wierzbowski Eversheds