Day 18 March 2022 President Andrzej Duda signed a law on the defence of his homeland (hereinafter: the Act). The government project was adopted at an express pace due to the ongoing 24 February 2022 the aggression of the Russian Federation to Ukraine.
The outbreak of the war currently in progress in Ukraine was an impulse to speed up work on the Law on the Defence of Homeland. The bill was inducted into the Sejm 28 February And now 11 March was voted by the Sejm and then 17 March by the Senate.
The bill will enter into force 23 April 2022 Despite the rapid legislative path, it should be noted that according to the communication on the website of the Chancellery of the President of the Council of Ministers[1] Work on the project was carried out by the Council of Ministers before the outbreak of the war.
When assessing the proposal to amend the Constitution in the above-mentioned scope, it should be stated that it was formulated in isolation from the solutions introduced by the Law on Defence of the Motherland
The Act counts until 824 Articles, and according to the official justification of the project, its purpose is to “codification, which is already contained in various laws, of military law”[2].
The new act introduces, among other things, voluntary essential military service, changes in the structure of military administration and changes in employers' responsibilities towards military service providers.
Undoubtedly, however, the key change is the increase in defence spending, as justified by the project[3] to enable technical modernization of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and to increase the status of soldiers of the Polish Army.
According to Article 40 Defense spending laws are not to be lower than 2.2% Gross Domestic Product in the year 2022 and at least 3% Gross Domestic Product in the year 2023 And years later.
Article 39 Act as sources of funding indicates 1) State budget, 2) funds of the Armed Forces Support Fund and 3) revenue from the sale of equity or equity of defence potential of industrial companies, according to the justification of the project The main provisions are to be two first sources[4].
The statement of reasons, referring to the above-mentioned increase in expenditure from the state budget, states that the Act envisages "an increase in the rate of increase in the ratio of the contribution of expenditure to the financing of defence needs of the Republic of Poland in GDP and achievement already in the year 2024 indicator 2.5% (in the current state of the law this parameter was to be achieved only from 2030)”. Thus, the planned 2024 The Armed Forces Support Fund will finance defence spending equivalent to 0.5 GDP and 2023 the parameter may be even higher as expenditure from the budget will be lower than 2.5% GDP, with the existing overall objective 3% GDP.
Armed Forces Support Fund
An approximation of the rules of operation of the Armed Forces Support Fund should therefore be considered as appropriate.
According to Article 41(1) The Act of the Armed Forces Support Fund is to be created in the Bank of the National Farm. Fund financing has been described in detail under Article 41(4), the bonds issued by Bak Gospodarstwa Krajowego covered by the State Treasury guarantee will undoubtedly be of crucial importance to the Fund's financing (cf. Article 41(1)(9) Acts in conjunction with Article 45(1)(2) Acts) .
The creation of the Armed Forces Support Fund means that funds allocated through it to the defence of money will not be covered by the constitutional debt limit from Article 216(5) The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which prohibits state authorities from borrowing or granting guarantees and financial guarantees which will result in public debt exceeding 3/5 the annual gross domestic product value. The funds allocated to defence through the Armed Forces Support Fund will not constitute public debt within the meaning of Article 73 Act dated 27 August 2009 public finances.[5]
Controversial Postulate of the Amendment of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland
After the President signed the law on the defence of his homeland at a press conference 21 March this year The spokesman for the Council of Ministers informed about the ongoing work in the Council of Ministers on the draft amendment of the Constitution.
one the subject matter of amendments to the Basic Act would be excluded from financing matters related to the army as a rule established by Article 216(5) Constitution of Poland[6]. According to the Ombudsman of the Council of Ministers, this exemption would allow the Polish army to be quickly equipped in the event of an attack.
When assessing the proposal to amend the Constitution in the above-mentioned scope, it should be stated that it was formulated in isolation from the solutions introduced in the Law on Defence of the Motherland.
As has already been pointed out, the creation of the Armed Forces Support Fund is intended to enable the financing of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, with the exception of the constitutional debt limit.
Thus, with the entry into force of the Act, the extraordinary government's planned retrofitting of the army will be possible through this fund. The proposed amendment to the Constitution is therefore without object.
On the margins, it should be pointed out that the omission of the budgetary principle from Article 216(5) The Constitution of the Republic by establishing an appropriate fund is a solution which has already been applied many times by the authorities. To date, the Road Fund, the Anti-Activity Fund has been established.
Covid-19 or Polish Development Fund. In days under Act dated 12 March 2022 An Aid Fund will also be created to help Ukrainian citizens in the context of the armed conflict in their territory.
In assessing the scale of out-of-budget spending of public money, the Citizens' Development Forum indicates that it is currently "long beyond Parliament's control 260,000,000,000 PLN.
By the end of this year, according to the plans of the government, this is to be 350,000,000,000 PLN, a to 2025 – above 400,000,000,000 PLN, or approximately one fourth public debt calculated in accordance with the Union methodology’[7].
[1]https://www.gov.pl/web/premier/projekt-ustawy-o-obronie-ojczyzny2
[2] Reasons for the seismic printing no. 2052 p. 1, justification available on the Sejm website at:
- https://www.sejm.gov.pl/Sejm9.nsf/druk.xsp?nr=2052
- [3] Reasons for the seismic printing no. 2052 p. 40.
- [4] Reasons for the seismic printing no. 2052 p. 41.
- [5] Journal of Laws of 2021, item 305, t.j. of day 18 February 2021
- [6] https://www.infor.pl/prawo/nowosci-prawne/5438725,Zmiana-Konstytucji-RP-projekt-zasady-wiekszosc-glosow.html
- [7] https://for.org.pl/pl/a/8975,kolejne-fundusze-poza-kontrola-co-moze-pojsc-nie-tak
Paweł Postolko
Lawyer, graduate of Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University, where he then completed Postgraduate Studies in Economic and Tax Criminal Law. With Chancellery Russell Bedford related to 2021. His professional interests are economic law, taking into account criminal and economic issues. He has practical professional experience in handling court cases.