Law-making
Data on parliament’s law-making role and activities
Legislative activity
Number of laws adopted by parliament, per year
189 (2021)
See historical data for this field.
Notes
For some parliaments, data can not be presented on an annual basis, for example because parliamentary sessions run from April to March of the following year. In such cases, the period to which the data corresponds is specified here.
The "Parliament" includes the following entities who possess the right of legislative initiative: groups of least 15 Deputies, Sejm committees, and the Senate. The "Executive" includes the following entities who possess the right of legislative initiative: the Council of Ministers and the President of the Republic.
The number of laws initiated by the Parliament and the Executive combined exceeds the total number of laws adopted in the 2011-2015 legislature (752) due to the possibility of joint consideration of bills by the Sejm. In the 2011-2015 legislature, the Executive initiated 447 laws and the Parliament initiated 340 laws.
In the 2015-2019 legislature, 2 laws were initiated by a group of at least 100,000 citizens.
The number of laws initiated by the Parliament and the Executive combined exceeds the total number of laws adopted in the 2011-2015 legislature (752) due to the possibility of joint consideration of bills by the Sejm. In the 2011-2015 legislature, the Executive initiated 447 laws and the Parliament initiated 340 laws.
In the 2015-2019 legislature, 2 laws were initiated by a group of at least 100,000 citizens.
Total number of laws adopted by Parliament in the previous legislature
923 (2019)
See historical data for this field.
Number of laws adopted in the previous legislature that were initiated by parliament
242 (2019)
See historical data for this field.
Number of laws adopted in the previous legislature that were initiated by the government
679 (2019)
See historical data for this field.
Dates of the previous legislature
12.11.2015 to 11.11.2019
See historical data for this field.
Outcome when the two chambers cannot agree on a piece of draft legislation
For bicameral parliaments: Outcome when the two chambers cannot agree on a piece of draft legislationNot applicable; The legislation cannot be adopted unless both chambers agree; The decision of the lower chamber will take effect after a certain deadline; The decision of the upper chamber will take effect after a certain deadline; Other (please specify)
For bicameral parliaments: Outcome when the two chambers cannot agree on a piece of draft legislation
Other (please specify)
Notes
- The lower chamber may reject the decision of the upper chamber by an absolute majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of members of the lower chamber.
- If the upper chamber fails to adopt an appropriate resolution on the bill within 30 days of submission of a bill, the bill shall be considered adopted according to the wording submitted by the lower chamber.
- If the upper chamber fails to adopt an appropriate resolution on the bill within 30 days of submission of a bill, the bill shall be considered adopted according to the wording submitted by the lower chamber.
Source
Legal documents that stipulate parliament's role.
Constitution, art. 121
Executive-legislative relations
Legislation adopted by parliament requires the assent of the Head of State
In some countries, the Constitution foresees that legislation adopted by parliament must be signed into law by the Head of State. If so, the Head of State may, for example, have the power to veto the legislation, return it to parliament, or submit it to another body such as a constitutional court.
Yes
Source
Legal documents that stipulate parliament's role.
Constitution, art. 122
Number of times the Head of State declined to give assent to legislation, per year
2 (2021)
See historical data for this field.
Consequences when the Head of State declines to give assent to legislation
Consequences when the Head of State declines to give assent to legislation: Not applicable; No further action is taken. The legislation is rejected; The legislation is returned to Parliament for re-examination; The legislation is referred to the Constitutional/Supreme Court;The legislation is put to a referendum; Other (please specify)
The legislation is returned to Parliament for re-examination
Not applicable. The Head of State cannot decline to give assent to legislation adopted by parliament
No
Final decision when parliament and the Head of State do not agree
Final decision when parliament and the Head of State do not agree: Not applicable; Parliament; Head of State; Constitutional/Supreme Court; Other (please specify)
Parliament
Compare data of this field.
Existence of a procedure to introduce emergency legislation
Not applicable. There is no procedure to introduce emergency legislation.
No