Appendix to the resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland of 30th July, 1992 ("Monitor Polski" 1992, No. 26, item 185).

 

SUBJECT MATTER OF ACTIVITY OF SEJM COMMITTEES

The under-mentioned matters come within the competence of the following committees:

1) Administration and Internal Affairs - State administration as well as security, public order and safety, as well as geodesy and cartography;

2) Special Services - providing opinion on bills and draft resolutions pertaining to the Special Services and assessment of normative acts of a general nature in matters concerning the functioning of these services; providing opinions, directions of work of the Special Services on the basis of information presented by chiefs of these services; examination of annual reports submitted by chiefs of these services; providing opinions on the proposed nominations for the positions of chiefs or their deputies; providing opinions on the draft budget in that part concerning the Special Services and the reports on its implementation; providing opinions on co-operation between the Special Services subordinate to the Minister of Interior and Administration and to the Minister of National Defence as well as co-operation of these services with other services and military units supervised by the Minister of Interior and Administration; assessment of co-operation between the Special Services and organs of State administration and organs of prosecution as well as examination of complaints concerning the activity of the Special Services.

3) State Control - activity of the Supreme Chamber of Control and the State Inspectorate of Labour and, in particular, providing opinion on schedules of activities of the Supreme Chamber of Control and annual reports on the activity of the Supreme Chamber of Control and the State Inspectorate of Labour, their budgets and reports on the implementation thereof, providing opinion on the draft statute of the Supreme Chamber of Control and the draft statute of the State Inspectorate of Labour, providing opinion on other decisions of the Sejm organs as well as conclusions and material resulting from the Act on the Supreme Chamber of Control, submitting to the Sejm motions for an immediate delivery of information about the results of audits conducted by the Supreme Chamber of Control, conducting regular appraisal of the activity of the Supreme Chamber of Control and the State Inspectorate of Labour, including an analysis of conducted audits and realization of postaudit statements and their delivery to the Marshal of the Sejm, as well as the activities of regional audit chambers.

3a) European Union Affairs - matters related to Poland’s membership in the European Union, particularly the taking of a position and expressing an opinion on draft legislative acts of the European Union, on draft international agreements to which the European Union, the European Communities or their Member States are to be the parties, on operational programmes of activities of the Council of European Union and on annual legislative plans of the European Commission, the formulating of recommendations to the Council of Ministers regarding the position the Council of Ministers is to take during the consideration of the proposal in the Council of European Union, the considering of information and other documents from the Council of Ministers, and also pronouncing an opinion on proposed candidatures for positions in the European Union bodies.

4) Education, Science and Youth - pre-school and primary, secondary, vocational, college and academic education, adult education, schooling, complementary and in-service education of teachers and scholars, rest, physical education and sport of children and youth, care of children and youth, archives, science and technology policy, organization and management of science, scientific research, research and development units, practical application of research results, inventions and rationalization, standardization, metrology and quality control, scholarly associations and corporations, scientific co-operation with foreign countries, school and academic self-government as well as self-government in research and development units and also realization of aspirations of the younger generation, social and professional adjustment of young people; the scope of activity by the Education, Science and Youth Committee, specified above, does not exempt other Sejm committees from taking special care of problems of scientific and technological progress within their competence;

5) Deputies’ Ethics - drawing up the "Principles of Deputies’ Ethics", supplementing and correcting thereof, as well as their dissemination among Deputies, examination of cases of Deputies conducting themselves in a manner inconsistent with Deputy’s dignity, examination of cases involving the Register of Interests and financial declarations of Deputies;

6) repealed;

7) Public Finances - monetary, credit and tax systems, wages and incomes, the Budget and State financial plans, grants, agencies and foundations with participation of the State Treasury, property insurance, custom duties and statistics;

8) Economic - economic policy, in particular restructuring of the economy, effectiveness of industry, foreign and domestic trade, technology, direct investment and involvement of foreign capital, as well as workers’, business and employers’ selfgovernment, creation of adequate legal basis for setting up, functioning and development of small and medium enterprises operated by various economic subjects, adjustment of legal framework, including the legislative process, to the needs and capabilities of functioning of such enterprises, development of handicraft and co-operatives as well as economic activity in small business and services, tourism, protection against operation of monopolies, in particular natural monopolies, ensuring freedom of competition in the market, the acceptability of concessions for performance of professions or economic activities, preventing monopolization practices and protection of consumer rights;

9) Infrastructure - construction, physical planning, housing economy, land, air and water transport, radio and telephone communication, computer networks, telecommunications and posts, as well as maritime economy, including merchant fleet, seaports, sea fishery and provision of information concerning maritime problems;

10) Physical Education and Sport - physical culture and sport;

11) Culture and Media - the cultural and information policy of the State, including promotion of culture, art and creation, dissemination of culture, preservation of cultural heritage, matters pertaining to the press, radio and television, publications, voluntary cultural activity, and cultural cooperation with foreign countries;

12) Liaison with Poles Abroad - ties with the Homeland by Poles and persons of Polish origin living abroad permanently or temporarily;

13) National and Ethnic Minorities - the preservation of the cultural heritage of national, ethnic and language minorities and the protection of their rights;

14) National Defence - the defence of the State, particularly in relation to the activity of the armed forces, the State system of territorial and civil defence and its functioning, fulfilment of duties in the field of strengthening national defence by State organs and enterprises, by cooperative and non-profit organizations and by citizens, as well as the problems of production establishments in the military sector;

15) Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry - the protection and development of the environment as well as the protection of its exhaustible resources, water economy, inland waterways, meteorology, hydrology, geology and also forestry and forest economy;

16) Constitutional Accountability - the conduct of proceedings to examine the fairness of the originating motions received for the purpose of bringing persons to constitutional accountability, to adopt resolutions on that subject, and to submit to the Sejm reports on works completed;

17) Social Policy and Family Affairs - the development of social policy of the State, protection of employees, including safety and hygiene at work, analysis of wage systems and costs of living, combatting unemployment, social and living problems of the disabled, social security, social benefits, social assistance, municipal housing, problems of veterans as well as laws directly concerning functioning of the family, fulfilment of its roles and tasks, presenting legislative proposals relating to these issues and co-operation with the commissioner for the family and women’s affairs;

18) Rules and Deputies' Affairs - the grant by the Sejm of permission to bring a Deputy to account for the commission of an offence or misdemeanour or to arrest or detain him, the provision of means to a Deputy enabling him to discharge his functions, expiry of his term of office, the activity of Deputy offices, the interpretation and application of the Standing Orders of the Sejm and examining complaints and suggestions referred to the Sejm and its organs; consideration of charges brought against Deputies for failure to fulfil their duties as Deputies; exercise of permanent supervision over the work of the Chancellery of the Sejm;

19) Agriculture and Rural Development - agriculture, horticulture, fruit-farming, purchasing of products, breeding, agricultural co-operatives, crop and forest area management and protection, supplying agriculture and rural areas with means of production, including means for drainage and water supply, food industry, inland fishery and fish processing, socioprofessional organizations of farmers and socio-economic situation of the rural population; the scope of activity of the Committee also encompasses determination of methods for preventing monopolistic practices by organs and structures involved in the above-mentioned activities as well as the development and modernization of rural infrastructure and issues connected with agricultural education and consultancy;

20) Local Government and Regional Policy - the organization and functioning of local government structure, administration of communal property, municipal economy, physical planning and development of regions and local communities; the scope of activity of the Committee also encompasses examination of outlines of regional policy of the State;

21) State Treasury - transformation of the form of ownership, in particular within the State sector, as well as supervision over public property in the economy;

22) Foreign Affairs - the foreign policy of the State;

23) Justice and Human Rights - the observance of law and rule of law, the courts, public prosecutors and notarial offices, the Bar and legal services, the functioning of attorneys' and legal counsels' self-government, and observance of human rights;

24) Legislative - problems of legislation and legal cohesion, cooperation in the organization of the legislative process and ensuring its propriety, consideration of bills and draft resolution of considerable degree of legislative complexity, matters related to proceedings before the Constitutional Tribunal and resulting from judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal, and also participation in supervision of implementation and application of laws and resolutions of the Sejm and coordination of the above said activities;

25) Health - health protection.