Abstract

This article concerns mostly on one of the most important institutions in Poland and generally in all modern republican states, which is acting president in case of emptying the office before the end of term. The article begins with a short presentation of the situation
that took place in Poland after the tragic death of president Lech Kaczyński, when that kind of institution was used for three times. On second part, the author describes history of acting president in Polish constitutionalism, beginning with times of II Republic and ending on
the regulations that were present in People's Republic of Poland. Third part is about the evolution of mentioned above regulations in III Republic's period, from its early years to modern times. Fourth part brings up the issue of Józef Zych (who was marshal of the Sejm
in 1995) and compares it to the regulations of Small Constitution of 1992 which was in force back then. In fifth part, as a summary, the author tries to find a satisfactory answer to the question mentioned in the article's title: whether Józef Zych was acting president in the year 1995?