Aleksandra Dębowska

The presumption of constitutionality in the light of the case law of the Constitutional Tribunal

The presumption of constitutionality is a common point of reference in the case law of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. Although this concept is not directly expressed in the text of the Polish Constitution of 1997, the Tribunal emphasizes its constitutional anchoring. The analysis of the Tribunal’s case law enables us to identify the subject of the presumption of constitutionality, as well as the moment of its acquisition and invalidation. In its decisions the Tribunal presents the opinion on the gradation of the presumption of constitutionality, as well as the close relations between the presumption of constitutionality and the interpretation of law in accordance with the constitution. Treating the presumption of constitutionality as a starting point in exercising the judicial review raises a question to what extent the Tribunal itself is bound by this presumption. The analysis of the Tribunal’s case law leads to the conclusion that this concept has the key role in the argumentation applied in the process of judicial review.

The Law-Making Character of the Supreme Court’s Judgments in the Jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal

In view of the constitutional crisis that has been going on since 2015, the issue of locating the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court within the system of State organs seems to be particularly important. One of the questions that should be answered is to what extent the ideas adopted in the 1990s appear to be helpful for the proper positioning of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Tribunal within the system. The issue of the origins of the aforementioned ideas should also be examined. Answering these questions enables the identification of essential problems related to the way in which the legislator shaped the rela-tionship between the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court.

The topic of this paper is to present the general assumptions the legislator relied on when setting the position of the Constitutional Tribunal, and the question of whether these assumptions remain fully valid – especially with regard to the possibility of reviewing the interpretation of the Supreme Court.