Additional members of the Council for a New Constitution have received their official appointments. The ceremony took place on Friday at the Belweder Palace, followed by the Council’s inaugural meeting. “Poland needs a constitution that will effectively protect the sovereignty of the state, the rights of its citizens, and the constitutional order,” said Przemysław Czarnek, a new member of the body established by the President of the Republic of Poland.
At the beginning of May, President Karol Nawrocki established the Council for a New Constitution, tasked with preparing a draft of a new constitution by 2030. During the inaugural ceremony at the Royal Castle, the first members of the Council received their appointments, including former President of the Constitutional Tribunal Julia Przyłębska, constitutional law scholar Ryszard Piotrowski, judge and former Minister of Justice Barbara Piwnik, lawyer and former Speaker of the Sejm Józef Zych, former Speaker of the Sejm Marek Jurek, Professor Ryszard Legutko, and constitutional law expert Professor Anna Łabno.
On Friday, a ceremony was held at the Belweder Palace to present appointment certificates to additional members of the Council, followed by its inaugural session. According to the Chancellery of the President, the appointments were presented on behalf of President Karol Nawrocki by the Head of the Chancellery, Zbigniew Bogucki.
“It is getting a bit stuffy in our constitutional system. The system needs airing out, it needs openness, it needs fresh air. We need that oxygen for the future of the Republic of Poland. The Council for a New Constitution is intended to be a forum for a broad, reliable, and responsible debate on the Constitution of the Next Generation 2030. It will be a debate conducted with respect for the pluralism of views, the constitutional traditions of the Republic of Poland, and responsibility for the common good. It will not be easy, it will not be simple, but I believe that all these different perspectives, viewpoints, and approaches will come together in this draft for the glory and the good of the Republic of Poland,” Bogucki wrote on X.
According to the Chancellery of the President, the Council has been joined by “experts, representatives of academic communities, legal practitioners, as well as representatives of parliamentary caucuses and a parliamentary circle.” The Council’s objective is to “develop the broadest possible cross-party constitutional compromise and solutions that address the challenges of the present and the future.”
Among those appointed to the Council for a New Constitution attached to the President of the Republic of Poland on Friday were former First President of the Supreme Court Małgorzata Manowska, as well as politicians including Przemysław Wipler, Przemysław Czarnek, Paweł Kukiz, Krzysztof Szczucki, and Tobiasz Bocheński. Other members include Sebastian Bańko, Andrzej Bryk, Elżbieta Chojna-Duch, Michał Czarnik, Zygmunt Drożdżejko, Genowefa Grabowska, Krzysztof Kozłowski, Krzysztof Koźmiński, Jan Krysiak, Dariusz Lasocki, and Konrad Meus.
“Poland needs a constitution that will effectively protect the sovereignty of the state, the rights of its citizens, and the constitutional order. I would like to thank President Karol Nawrocki for appointing me to the Council for a New Constitution. It is time for a substantive debate and solutions that will serve Poland for generations to come,” said Law and Justice’s candidate for Prime Minister, Przemysław Czarnek.
The Council’s members also include Oktawian Nawrot, Karol Pachnik, Małgorzata Paprocka, Grzegorz Pastuszko, Jadwiga Potrzeszcz, Wojciech Roszkowski, Michał Seweryński, Monika Smusz-Kulesza, Przemysław Sobolewski, Aleksander Stępkowski, Anna Surówka-Pasek, Bogumił Szmulik, Marek Szydło, Michał Wawer, Marcin Wawrzyniak, Karol Zajdowski, and Jacek Zaleśny.