In the name of Almighty God!
We, the Polish Nation, grateful to Providence for setting us free from a servitude of a century and a half; remembering gratefully the courage and perseverance of the self-sacrificing struggle of generations which have unceasingly de voted their best efforts to the cause of independence; taking up the glorious tradition of the memorable Constitution of the Third of May; having in mind the weal of our whole, united, and independent mother-country, and desiring to establish her independent existence, power, safety, and social order on the eternal principles of right and liberty; desirous also of ensuring the development of all her moral and material forces for the good of the whole of renascent humanity, and of securing equality to all citizens of the Republic, and respect, due rights, and the special protection of the state to labor;—do enact and establish in the Legislative Seym of the Republic of Poland this constitutional law.
Section I: The Republic
Article 1. The Polish State is a Republic
Art. 2. Sovereignty in the Republic of Poland belongs to the nation. The organs of the nation are: in the domain of legislation, the Seym and the Senate; in the domain of executive power, the President of the Republic; jointly with the responsible ministers; in the domain of the administration of justice, independent courts.
Section II: Legislative Power
Art.3. The domain of state legislation comprises the establishment of all public and private laws, and the manner of their execution.
There can be no statute without the consent of the Seym, expressed in a manner conforming to the Standing Orders.
A statute voted by the Seym comes into force at the time determined in the statute itself.
The Republic of Poland, basing its organization on the principle of broad territorial self-government, will delegate to the bodies representing this self-government the proper domain of legislation, especially in administrative, cultural, and economic fields, to be defined more fully by statutes of the state.
Ordinances by public authorities, from which result rights or duties of citizens, have binding force only if issued by the authority of a statute, and with a specific reference to the same.
Art. 4. A statute of the state will determine annually the budget of the state for the ensuing year.
Art. 5. The establishment of the numerical strength of the army, and permission for the annual draft of recruits, can be determined only by statute.
Art. 6. The contracting of a state loan, the alienation, exchange or pledging of immovable property of the state, the imposition of taxes and public dues, the determination of customs duties and monopolies, the establishment of the monetary system and the taking over by the state of a financial guarantee, can take place only by the authority of a statute.
Art. 7. The Government will present annually for parliamentary confirmation the accounts of the state for the past year.
Art. 8. The manner of exercising parliamentary control over the debts of the state will be defined by a special statute.
Art. 9. The control of the whole state administration as regards finances; the examination of the accounts of the state; the annual submission to the Seym of its motion for the granting or refusing of its absolutorium to the Government, are in the hands of the Supreme Board of Control, which is organized on the basis of collegiality and judicial independence of its members, the latter being removable only by a vote of the Seym representing a majority of three-fifths of those actually voting. The organization of the Supreme Board of Control and its method of procedure will be defined in detail by a special statute.
The President of the Supreme Board of Control enjoys a position equal to that of a Minister, but he is not a member of the Council of Ministers and is directly responsible to the Seym for the exercise of his office and for the officials who are his subordinates.
Art. 10. Measures can originate either with the government or with the Seym. Motions and bills which involve expenditure from the state treasury must state the manner of their raising and expenditure.
Art. 11. The Seym is composed of deputies elected for a term of five years to be counted from the day of the opening of the Seym, by secret, direct, equal, and proportional voting.