Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The current Constitution of Poland was adopted on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland (Polish: Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), it replaced the temporary amendments put into place in 1992 designed to reverse the effects of the communist dictatorship, establishing the nation as "a democratic state ruled by law and implementing the principles of social justice". It was adopted by the National Assembly of Poland on 2 April 1997, approved by a national referendum on 25 May 1997, and came into effect on 17 October 1997.

Poland has had numerous previous constitutional acts during its history. Historically, the most significant is probably the May Constitution adopted on 3 May 1791.

The five years after 1992 were spent in dialogue about the new character of Poland. The nation had changed significantly since 1952 when the Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland was instituted. A new consensus was needed on how to acknowledge the awkward parts of Polish history; the transformation from a one-party system into a multi-party one and from socialism towards a free market economic system; and the rise of pluralism alongside Poland's historically Roman Catholic culture.

The attitude toward the past was articulated in the preamble, in which the citizens of Poland established a Republic "Recalling the best traditions of the First and the Second Republic, Obliged to bequeath to future generations all that is valuable from our over one thousand years' heritage ... Mindful of the bitter experiences of the times when fundamental freedoms and human rights were violated in our Homeland, ...".

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