Polish System
of Public Administration
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Institute of administrative Studies
University of Wrocław
Polish System of Public Administration

central administration

territorial administration
 territorial self-government
 territorial governmental administration
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
Polish territorial administration is dualist in the sense of co-existence
of:
 territorial self-government
 territorial governmental administration (administration controlled by
the central government)
Territorial governmental administration is divided into:
• general, belonging to voivods (appointed by the Prime Minister)
• unified, composed of authorities and entities subordinate to the
voivod (e.g. voivodship headquarters of police, the board of education, and voivodship inspectorate of building supervision)
• non-unified, involving authorities and entities that are not subordinate to the voivod, being subject to ministers and/or heads of central
offices (e.g. military authorities, tax authorities, and road transport
inspectorates)
In Poland dualism in the strict sense of co-existence of territorial self-government and territorial governmental administration is represented only at the
level of voivodship.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
Essentially made for the purpose of territorial self-government,
the basic administrative division of Poland is made into:
 municipalities, being basic units of local self-government
 districts as supra-municipality level of local self-government
 voivodships as units of regional self-government
In each unit of territorial (local and regional) self-government there is
• a council elected directly by the members of a given self-government community
• an executive authority
 single executive authority elected directly in municipalities: the
municipality administrative officer (wójt) in rural municipalities, a
mayor of the town (burmistrz) in smaller towns, and a town president (prezydent) in bigger towns
 a board (zarząd) in districts and voivodships, elected by the
council, chaired by a district head (starosta) and a marshall (marszałek województwa) respectively
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
State administration
Governmental
state administration
•
the Council of Ministers
•
the Prime Minister
ministers
central offices
•
•
•
territorial governmental
administration
Non-governmental
state administration
•
the President of the Republic of Poland
•
the National Council of
Radio Broadcasting and
Television
•
the Supreme Chamber
of Control
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
Public
administration
Governmental
state administration
(lead by the
Council of Ministers)
Non-governmental
state administration
Self-government
administration
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
The Council of Ministers
In common parlance it is often referred to as the government. However the Constitution does not equate the Council of Ministers with
the government. Consequently, one can speak about:

the government in a narrow sense = the Council of Ministers
the government in a broad sense = an organizationally complex
mechanism, a „working system” established to
• govern the country in a political sense
• determine the policy of the state
• prepare principles for the implementation of this policy
• create overall conditions for the execution of tasks delineated
within this policy
• direct the implementation processes in various areas of the
administration and economy

dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
The Prime Minister / The President of the Council
of Ministers / Premier
•
presides over the Council of Ministers
is a monocratic and independent organ of state administration, equipped with unique duties and powers
•
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
Art. 148 of the Constitution
The Prime Minister shall:
1)
2)
3)
4)
represent the Council of Ministers,
manage the work of the Council of Ministers,
issue regulations,
ensure the implementation of the policies adopted by the
Council of Ministers and specify the manner of their implementation,
5) coordinate and control the work of members of the Council
of Ministers,
6) exercise, within the limits and by the means specified in the
Constitution and statute, supervision of territorial selfgovernment,
7) be the official superior of employees of government administration.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
Ministers
The constitution (art. 149) distinguishes two categories of ministers:
• departmental ministers
• ministers without portfolio
Departmental ministers manage specific departments. The departments for
which they are responsible are listed in the Governmental Administration Act
1997 that divides the entire field of administration into 32 departments and
outlines the principal subject matters covered by each of them.
The Prime Minister, when determining the tasks of the governmental administration and planning the composition of the Council, must decide which department or departments should be within the scope of responsibility of particular ministers. The duties and prerogatives of departmental ministers are
prescribed in parliamentary statutes and subordinate legislation. These are
their „own” duties and prerogatives, which means that ministers, in addition
to being members of the Council, simultaneously act as autonomous high
administrative authorities.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
Art. 151 of the Constitution
The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and ministers
shall take the following oath in the presence of the
President of the Republic:
„Assuming this office of Prime Minister (Deputy Prime
Minister, minister) I do solemnly swear to be faithful to
the provisions of the Constitution and other laws of the
Republic of Poland, and that the good of the Homeland
and the prosperity of its citizens shall forever remain my
supreme obligation”.
The oath may also be taken with the additional sentence
„So help me, God”.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
Central offices
Central offices form a level just below the governmental main organs
and are subordinated either to one of the ministers or directly to the
Prime Minister. They include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
Main Statistical Office
Public Procurement Office
Central Office of Measures
Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
Polish Committee for Normalisation
Office of Electronic Communications
Internal Security Agency
Foreign Intelligence Agency
The principle object of the activity of the central offices is the everyday execution of the
law and the administrative tasks assigned to them. As a consequence, such offices
remain fairly independent and are fairly immune to fluctuations at the higher
governmental level that is naturally very susceptible to the political environment.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
The President of the Republic of Poland
Art. 10 of the Constitution
1. The system of government of the Republic of Poland
shall be based on the separation of and balance between the legislative, executive and judicial powers.
2. (…) executive power shall be vested in the President of
the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers
(…).
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
The President of the Republic of Poland is the main organ of administration, nonetheless his status is special and different from the position of any
other administrative organ. The Presidency is unique because it has extensive
and important prerogatives that transcend the sphere of executive power and
reach into the sphere of competence of other state authorities. The President:
is the supreme representative of the Republic of Poland and the guarantor
of the continuity of state authority
• may in certain circumstances dissolve the Sejm
• participates in the legislative process by exercising the power to veto parliamentary statutes or sign them into law
• appoints judges
• grants citizenship
• awards orders
• may grant clemency
•
All of these prerogatives determine a unique presidential rank in comparison
to the other main organs. For that reasons presidential functions may not be
characterized simply as the execution of administrative duties.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Polish System of Public Administration
The National Council of Radio Broadcasting and Television
Art. 213 of the Constitution
1. The National Council of Radio Broadcasting and Television shall
safeguard the freedom of speech, the right to information as well
as safeguard the public interest regarding radio broadcasting and
television.
2. The National Council of Radio Broadcasting and Television shall
issue regulations and, in individual cases, adopt resolutions.
Art. 214 of the Constitution
1. The members of the National Council of Radio Broadcasting and
Television shall be appointed by the Sejm, the Senate and the
President of the Republic.
2. A member of the National Council of Radio Broadcasting and
Television shall not belong to a political party, a trade union or
perform public activities incompatible with the dignity of his function.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Concluding Remark
The similarity between Africa and Poland is that we were
also a colonized country. We were a colony for 130 years.
Ryszard Kapuściński
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat