Poland introduced a new form of public e-consultation into its national legislative process. This initiative marked a significant step toward enhancing citizen participation in lawmaking by integrating digital tools into the legislative workflow.
Problems and Purpose
In November 2024, a new form of public consultation in the lawmaking process was introduced in Poland. In this case, e-consultation, as a well-known method of citizen participation, has been implanted at the national level into the legislative process in the house of the Polish Parliament (pl. Sejm). The purpose of new method was to increase the transparency of the legislative process and improve the quality of lawmaking in Poland.
The Role of E-consultation in the Polish Law-making System
In Poland, the legislative process of national laws consists of five main stages. First, it may be initiated by constitutional subjects: members of the Sejm, the Senate, the President of the Republic, the government or group of 100,000 citizens. Second, the laws are adopted by the lower house of Parliament - Sejm (in three readings) and third passed to the Senate, which is the upper house of the Parliament. In fourth stage, the President of the Republic can sign the laws or veto them (which means it returns to the Sejm) or refer it to the Constitutional Tribunal to control their constitutionalty. The last stage is the publication of the laws in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland. The new method of public e-consultation relates to the second stage; hence it is conducted before the first readings in the Sejm. This method is mandatory for bills from members of the Sejm and 100,000 citizens. It is optional for the Senate and Presidential bills and excluded for bills initiated by the government
Open Online Participation
This e-consultation method is fully provided by an online platform, liked with official Sejm’s website. As a rule, participation is open to everyone, but it is no anonymous. Participants may vote or comment on draft legislation as their own opinion or on behalf of the entity they represent (organisation, company, etc.). Moreover, citizens must identify themselves by logging in through the government's system. It is therefore a formal and relatively secure process.
How it Works?
After logging in, participants can submit their comments on the text of the bill in the form. Comments may concern the whole bill or specific parts of it. Initially, the comment form contains three questions on the Likert scale (from 1 to 5):
- In your opinion, is the adoption of this bill necessary?
- Do you approve of the solutions contained in the bill?
- Do you agree with the statement that you are directly affected by the regulations in the bill?
Following, there is one open question as a comment on the entire bill. And next, there are seven questions with “yes” or “now” answers:
- In your opinion, could the identified problem be solved differently than through the proposed bill?
- Do you agree with the bill's assessment of the social impact of the proposed changes?
- Do you agree with the bill's assessment of the economic impact of the proposed changes?
- Do you agree with the bill's assessment of the financial impact of the proposed changes?
- Do you agree with the bill's assessment of the legal effects of the proposed changes?
- Do you see other impacts of the proposed changes than those indicated by the proposed bill?
- Do you think the bill will affect other entities (individuals, groups, organizations) than those identified in the bill?
It is important to add that the above comment form is relatively easy to read, which allows to skip selected comments and edit already added comments. As a rule, the deadline for e-consultation is 30 days. However, in justified cases, the Speaker of the Sejm (pl. Marszałek Sejmu) may set a shorter deadline than 30 days or even not conduct them. Such decisions must be published with a notice explaining important reason.
Outcomes, and Effects
After the e-consultation process is completed, all comments are collected and published on the Sejm's website, along with the names of the participants. Due to the participatory nature of this method, the comments of participants are not binding for the authorities. However, they should provide guidance to policymakers as they make further decisions. The current form of Polish Parliamentary e-consultation is a one-sided method of civic participation in which citizens are allowed to submit comments but will not receive any feedback on their inclusion or rejection.
First Experiences
During the first five months, public consultations on 48 draft laws were completed. A total of 26 326 questionnaires were submitted, as comments on legislative initiatives submitted to parliament. 24 323 people also shared their comments. Some people filled out more than one consultation form.
Wojciech Firek
Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland)
