Part I.    GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter 1

THE FIRST SITTING OF THE SEJM OF THE REPUBLIC

OF POLAND

Article 1

1. The first sitting of a newly elected Sejm shall be on a date specified by the President of the Republic of Poland.

2. The first sitting of the Sejm shall be opened by the Marshal-Senior appointed from amongst the elder Deputies.

Article 2

1. At the first sitting of the Sejm, Deputies shall take an oath in the wording specified in the Constitution.

2. The Marshal-Senior shall conduct the taking of the oath and election of the Marshal of the Sejm with assistance of temporary secretaries appointed by him from amongst the youngest Deputies in such number as may be necessary to discharge such functions.

3. The oath shall be taken in the following manner: after reading out the wording of the oath, all the Deputies shall, one after another, stand and declare - „I so swear”. A Deputy may add the following sentence: „So help me, God”.

4. Deputies absent from the first sitting of the Sejm and those who are promoted to a seat during a term of office shall take the oath at the first sitting which they will attend.

Article 3

1. The Marshal of the Sejm, in consultation with the Rules and Deputies' Affairs Committee, shall declare the expiry of a Deputy's mandate because of his refusal to take the oath or avoiding taking the oath.

2. Decisions, taken by the Marshal of the Sejm, declaring the expiry of a mandate or the filling of a vacant mandate, shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland - "Monitor Polski".

Article 4

1. After the taking of the oath by the Deputies, the Marshal-Senior shall conduct the election of the Marshal of the Sejm.

2. Candidates for Marshal of the Sejm shall be nominated by at least 15 Deputies. A Deputy may support only one candidate.

3. The Marshal of the Sejm shall be elected by the Sejm by an absolute majority of votes; the election shall be held by a roll call vote, unless the Sejm decides otherwise.

4. When more than one candidate has been nominated and in the first vote none of the candidates has obtained an absolute majority of votes, then, the name of the candidate who has obtained the least number of votes shall be deleted from the list of candidates before each subsequent vote. If two or more candidates have obtained the same and least number of votes, then the names of those candidates shall be deleted before the subsequent vote.

5. If nobody has been elected as a result of application of the procedure specified in paras. 3 and 4, the election of the Marshal of the Sejm shall be repeated.

Article 5

1. The Marshal of the Sejm shall take the chair during debates.

2. The Sejm shall, by means of a resolution, determine the number of Vice-Marshals of the Sejm.

3. A draft resolution may be submitted by at least 15 Deputies.

4. The provisions concerning the time limit for submission and delivery of drafts shall not apply to a draft resolution. A draft resolution shall be considered in the course of one reading.

5. The Marshal of the Sejm shall order the election of the Vice-Marshals.

6. The provisions of Article 4, paras. 2-5 shall apply, as appropriate, to the election of the Vice-Marshals of the Sejm.

Article 6

The Sejm shall choose 20 secretaries of the Sejm. They shall be chosen at the same time, unless the Sejm decides otherwise.