Ruling against Rules*

doi:10.1017/CBO9781107252523.003

2 - Ruling against Rules*

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014

Adam Przeworski

Edited by

Tom Ginsburg and

Alberto Simpser

Show author details

Adam Przeworski: Affiliation:
New York University
Tom Ginsburg: Affiliation:
University of Chicago
Alberto Simpser: Affiliation:
University of Chicago

Book contents

Get access

Summary

The Polish Constitution of 1952 appears in all substantive aspects to be a constitution of democracy. Most importantly, it does not contain the clause giving the communist party “the leading role in the state,” a clause standard in communist constitutions, beginning with the Soviet one of 1936. This fact is puzzling because Communist Party had a de facto monopoly of power, and exercising de facto power against written rules creates unnecessary difficulties. Indeed, it may not be accidental that the communist rule in Poland was most vulnerable to political crises, including the first breakdown of communist regimes.

A CONSTITUTION

Here are some articles from a constitution:

Article 15.

§1. The highest organ of State power is the Parliament.

§3. The Parliament adopts laws and executes control of activities of other organs of power and public administration.

Article 16.

§3. A deputy to the Parliament cannot be prosecuted or arrested without the consent of the Parliament or, during periods when the Parliament is not in session, of the Council of State.

Article 28a.

§1. The HighestControl Chamber oversees economic, financial, and organizational organs of public administration.

Type: Chapter
Information: Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes , pp. 21 - 35

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107252523.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Barros, Robert. 2002. Constitutionalism and Dictatorship. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Brenan, Gerald. 1943. The Spanish Labyrinth: The Social and Political Background of the Spanish Civil War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Czubiński, Antoni. 1992. Dzieje Najnowsze Polski, 1944–1989. Poznań: Wielkopolska Agencja Wydawnicza.Google Scholar

Ehrlich, Stanisław. 1956. Praworzdność, Sejm. Warszawa.Google Scholar

Elster, Jon. 1984. Ulysses and the Sirens: Studies in Rationality and Irrationality. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Elster, Jon. 2000. Ulysses Unbound: Studies in Rationality, Precommitment, and Constraints. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Gargarella, Roberto. 2000. Los fundamentos legales de la desigualidad: El constitucionalismo en América (1776–1860). Madrid: Siglo XXI.Google Scholar

Holmes, Stephen. 1995. Passions and Constraint: On the Theory of Liberal Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar

Holmes, Stephen. 2011. Constitutions and Constitutionalism. Ms. Law School, New York University.Google Scholar

Komarnicki, W. 1938. Nowy ustrój państwowy Zwizku Sowietów. Wilno.Google Scholar

Krukowski, Stanislaw. 1990. “Mala Konstytucja z 1919 r,” in Konstytucje Polski: Studja monograficzne z dziejów polskiego konstytucjonalizmu vol. 2. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, pp. 7–18.Google Scholar

Łopatka, Adam. 1963. Kierownicza Rola Partii Komunistycznej w Stosunku do Państwa Socjalistycznego. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie.Google Scholar

Paine, Thomas. 1989 [1971]. The Rights of Man, in Paine: Political Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Poulantzas, Nicos. 1973. Political Power and Social Classes. London: New Left Books.Google Scholar

Rozmaryn, Stefan. 1961. Konstytucja Jako Ustawa Zasadnicza PRL. Warszawa: PWN.Google Scholar

Rybicki, Marian. 1990. “Konstytucja Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej z 1952r,” in Kallas, Marian, ed., Konstytucje Polski, vol. 2. Warszawa: PWN, pp. 311–43.Google Scholar

Vlahović, Veljko. 1963. “Role of the Leading Factors of the Social Consciousness. Beograd.” Review of International Affairs 1: 49–53.Google Scholar