In the case pending before the Constitutional Tribunal, a review is to be carried out in relation to the statute granting consent for ratification by the President of the Republic of Poland of the European Council Decision of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro. Article 90 in conjunction with Article 120 the first sentence in fine of Polish Constitution and Article 48 (6) of the Treaty on European Union are invoked as a standard for the review. In the opinion of the Sejm, those standards for the review are inadequate. In relation to other matters, the Sejm applies for discontinuance of the proceedings due to inadmissibility of making a decision.
In the opinion of the author, the European Council Decision 2020/2053 does not determine new competencies of the Union, but only the creation of new financial instruments to implement political priorities or better reflect the importance of the general budget. It does, however, impose a significant financial burden on the state, and thus meets the criteria for ratification of an international agreement set forth in the Polish Constitution in Article 89 para. 1 subpara. 4. It is therefore not permissible for the Decision to be ratified solely by the President of the Republic of Poland without the consent of the Sejm and the Senate expressed in a statute.
In the author’s opinion, on the grounds of the Constitution it is not possible to ratify the Council’s decision without the consent expressed in a law by the Sejm and the Senate. This decision causes a significant financial burden on the state and concerns matters for which the Constitution requires a statute. The Council’s decision has the effect of transferring to an international organization the competences of public authorities in certain matters. The author of the opinion estimates that the best form of expressing consent to the ratification of the decision of the Council would be to determine the mode of nationwide referendum by the Sejm.
In determining the correct procedure for ratification of Council Decision 2020/2053, the author has analysed the provisions of Polish law and European Union law. In the author’s opinion, on the basis of the Council Decision there is no transfer of powers of state authorities within the meaning of Article 90 of the Constitution. Therefore, in Polish conditions this will mean the requirement of the application of the so-called “large” ratification, referred to in Article 89 para. 1 of the Constitution. Such a solution is supported both by the substantive content of the provisions contained in Council Decision 2020/2053, the previous practice of ratifying Council Decisions on the system of own resources of the EU, as well as the order to apply a “pro-EU” interpretation.
The author of the opinion points out that the Council Decision 2020/2053 imposes a significant financial burden on the state and concerns matters regulated by statute or matters for which the Polish Constitution requires a statute, and as such may not be ratified without consent expressed by statute. The ratification of the Decision, due to the fact that through it the competencies of state authorities are transferred to the European Union in certain matters, should be conducted in accordance with Article 90 of the Polish Constitution.
According to the author, the ratification act is a specific statute aimed only at adopting a given agreement. It should contain the President’s authorisation to ratify it and the date of entry into force. Any changes and substantive corrections should be considered inadmissible. The contents of the agreement should be changed at the international, rather than the national, level.
The author points out that the Council Decision 2020/2053 requires ratification in accordance with the law of Member States. In the case of Poland it should be the procedure specified in Article 89 para. 1 of the Constitution, therefore requiring a prior consent granted in a statute. This mode has to be chosen to avoid imposing a significant financial burden on the state and because of earlier practice regarding the ratification of such decisions. The author excludes the possibility of the so called great ratification (Article 90 of the Constitution, majority of 2/3 votes in the Sejm), because the decision does not grant any new powers to the Union.
The Council’s decision regarding a uniform rate of collection for the unrecycled mass of plastic packaging waste, the digital fee and the incurrence of debt by the European Commission does not result in any transfer of competence from the Member States to the European Union. The lack of such transfer excludes the necessity of applying Article 90 of the Constitution (the so called the great ratification, majority of 2/3 votes in the Sejm). However, because the ratification would cause a significant financial burden on the state, the decision should be ratified pursuant to Article 89 para. 1 of the Constitution, i.e. by means of a statute.
The author, after analysing the contents of the Council Decision 2020/2053 in the light of national, European and international law, states that the decision does not levy any new taxes on the member states and does not grant the Union any new powers. In her opinion, the decision includes only a temporary authorisation for the European Commission to take out loans. Therefore, the author believes the decision needs to be ratified pursuant to Article 89 para. 1 of the Constitution, i.e. it requires a prior consent granted in a statute. She rejects the opinion that the decision should be ratified pursuant to Article 90 of the Constitution.
A ratification act is a special normative act, although it is adopted as an ordinary statute. It is of a procedural and episodic nature. It expresses the consent of the parliament to ratify an international agreement by the President. It should not be amended beyond the scope of this consent. Only minor editorial changes are allowed.
Leaving the European Union by the United Kingdom will cause changes in the Treaty on the European Union as well as in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. These changes are covered by the ordinary legislative procedure which includes the necessity of their ratification by Poland. The Sejm may take a position on Brexit, however it should take into account the role of the Council of Ministers in foreign policy. The result of UK’s withdrawal from the EU will be a considerable number of changes in the Polish legislation. Due to their scope as well as short time constraints, work on these issues should be held parallelly with negotiations on Brexit.
Les considérations ci-dessus sur la ratification par la Pologne de la Charte sociale européenne, permettent de conclure que notre pays a progressé d’ un pas, grȃce à cette ratification, dans la voie de l’Europe sociale, voie irréversible.
The provisions of the Constitution concerning the procedure for granting consent to ratification of international agreements do not give a definite answer to the question whether the Treaty of accession of Croatia to the European Union should require prior consent granted by statute according to Article 89 para 1 of the Constitution or whether Article 90 of the Constitution should be applied. The author examines the arguments for and against both possibilities and finds the latter more convincing.
The provisions of the Constitution concerning the procedure for granting consent to ratification of international agreements do not give a definite answer to the question whether the Treaty of accession of Croatia to the European Union should require prior consent granted by statute according to Article 89 para 1 of the Constitution or whether Article 90 of the Constitution should be applied. The author examines the arguments for and against both possibilities and finds the former more convincing.
The author examines the procedure for granting consent to ratification of international agreements in relation to the Treaty of accession of Croatia to the European Union. In accordance with the rule of systemic application of the Constitution, the procedure for granting consent to ratification of the Treaty should, to the greatest possible extent, respect the principle of state sovereignty and sovereignty of the nation and, therefore, the procedure specified in Article 90 of the Constitution should be applied.
The provisions of the Constitution concerning the procedure for granting consent to ratification of international agreements do not give a definite answer to the question whether the Treaty of accession of Croatia to the European Union should require prior consent granted by statute according to Article 89 para 1 of the Constitution or whether Article 90 of the Constitution should be applied. The author examines the arguments for and against both possibilities and finds the former more convincing.
The author, trying to determine the correct procedure for ratification of Council Decision 2020/2053 on the system of own resources of the European Union, considers this issue from the perspective of Polish and European Union law. In his considerations he also refers to historical arguments. The author concludes that the Council Decision should be ratified according to the procedure set out in Article 89 para. 1 of the Polish Constitution.
As a result of the adoption of the Council’s decision, the European Union will not receive any new competencies beyond such ones that it already possesses, which is why the author rejects the so-called ’great ratification’, i.e. the one carried out on the basis of Article 90 of the Constitution (majority of 2/3 votes in the Sejm). Because the ratification of the decision will result in a significant financial burden for the state, the proper procedure for its ratification is the statutory one provided in Article 89 para. 1 of the Constitution.
The author, following an analysis of the above‑mentioned Agreement, claims that Article 10 thereof, containing taxation provisions, meets the requirements of Article 89 (1) (5) of the Constitution. In his view, the Agreement should be ratified upon prior consent granted by statute, which means that the procedure for its ratification proposed by the Council of Ministers (on the basis of Article 89(2)) is improper.
The subject of the opinion is an analysis of the degree of implementation of provisions of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons of 1954 and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 1961 in the Polish legal system, in particular: determination of the rules of the Conventions which are present in Polish law; an analysis of possible inconsistencies between the Conventions and Polish law; an indication of legislator’s obligations that would arise, if Poland became bound by these Conventions.
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