Published: 2022-10-19

The Relations of the Polish State and the Jewish Religious Communities in the Republic of Poland Act of February 20, 1997 in light of the 1997 Constitution of Republic of Poland

Paweł Borecki
Zeszyty Prawnicze
Section: Artykuły
https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2022.22.3.03

Abstract

Ustawa z 20 lutego 1997 r. o stosunku Państwa do gmin wyznaniowych żydowskich w RP (the Relations of the Polish State and the Jewish Religious Communities in the Republic of Poland Act of February 20, 1997) is the Polish legislative act concerning religions which has raised the most controversy since 1989. The work to draft the Act was carried out in 1992-1997. It is the most favorable of all the legislative acts previously in force in Poland for the followers of Judaism. However, on examination, we may observe a certain amount of ambivalence in the approach the Polish legislator has taken. Some of the provisions in this Act have turned out to be unconstitutional with respect to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997 and are most likely marked by a secondary degree of unconstitutionality. A comparison with other Polish legislation concerning Churches and religious unions passed in 1989-1997 suggests that in a number of its provisions, the 1997 Act regulating the Polish State’s relations with Jewish Religious Communities is inconsistent with the provisions of the Polish Constitution of 1997. A number of them appear to infringe the principle of equal rights for all the Churches and other religious unions, the principle of the State’s recognition and respect of their autonomy, the principle of good legislation, the principle of citizens’ trust in the State and the laws it enacts, and even freedom of conscience and religion. The introduction of the criterion of Polish citizenship as a condition for membership of a Jewish religious community registered in Poland is a particularly glaring example of legislative malpractice. Some aspects of the 1997 Act appear to be defective as regards its provisions for regulatory proceedings. Another defect the 1997 Act has been accused of is that the legislator made significant omissions in comparison with other legislation concerning Churches and religious unions. In particular, it did not recognize the legal succession of contemporary Jewish religious communities to their pre-war predecessors. 25 years after its adoption, the 1997 Act on the relations of the Polish State with the Jewish Religious Communities in the Republic of Poland requires comprehensive amendment.

Keywords:

Judaism; Jewish religious communities; the Constitution of the Republic of Poland; legislation concerning religions; equal rights for Churches and religious unions.

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Borecki, P. (2022). The Relations of the Polish State and the Jewish Religious Communities in the Republic of Poland Act of February 20, 1997 in light of the 1997 Constitution of Republic of Poland. Zeszyty Prawnicze, 22(3), 79–105. https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2022.22.3.03

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