Constitutional Courts – Poland and East-Central Europe

Abstract

After the Second World War, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe were under the influence of the systemic solutions imposed by the USSR. Their constitutional systems were non-democratic systems based on one ideology and the monopoly of one party. The imposed political and socio-economic system concerned all spheres of the individual's life, changed the social structure and economic system. It was only his fall that opened the way to building a new regime, this time a democratic one. In individual countries, these changes took place differently – from reform efforts to almost revolutions. At the same time, transformation processes began, ending with the adoption of the constitution. The new constitutions contained, among others regulations regarding basic human and civil rights and freedoms, whose protection also requires institutional and procedural security. A special role in securing these rights is the judicial system in a given state, and it is not only about common and administrative courts, but also the constitutional judiciary. The article presents the formation of constitutional judiciary in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the scope of their competences and the way they function.