Constitutional Development in Post-Communist Poland

Most of the studies to date on constitutional development in post-communist countries focus on the question of constitutional form or content. Questions such as presidentialism versus parliamentarianism, individual rights versus collective rights tend to dominate the existing literature. This emphasis on constitutional content tends, however, to neglect the issue of context. In other words, what are the "enabling conditions" in political, social and economic terms that give rise to constitutions and that sustain constitutional orders? Accordingly, this article addresses the problems posed by a factionalized political elite and unstable socio--economic interests for constitutional development in contemporary Poland. By comparing Poland to the historical cases of French and American development, it becomes clear that Poland might be better served with a separate Bill of Rights in addition to the new constitution.