Chapter 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 169
1. The Sejm shall deliberate in the course of sittings.
2. The following matters, in particular, shall be the subject of deliberations during sittings of the Sejm:
1) the election of the Marshal, Vice-Marshals and secretaries and the appointment of Sejm committees;
2) the appointment and recall of the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control, the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights, the President of the National Bank of Poland and Inspector General for the Protection of Personal Data;
3) the election of judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, vice-chairpersons and members of the Tribunal of State, members of the Council for Monetary Policy, members of the National Council of Radio Broadcasting and Television as well as the Deputies of the Sejm to be members of the National Council of the Judiciary;
4) Messages from the President;
5) bills and draft resolutions of the Sejm;
6) resolutions of the Senate either on the introduction of amendments to a bill passed by the Sejm or the rejection of it;
7) proposals by the President concerning reconsideration of a bill passed;
8) draft Budgets and other financial plans of the State, as well as reports on their implementation, together with a motion to grant approval to the accounts submitted by the Council of Ministers;
9) general policy presentation by the Prime Minister, together with a motion requiring a vote of confidence in the Government;
10) election of the Council of Ministers, in cases specified in constitutional provisions;
11) motions for a vote of no confidence in the Government or in individual ministers;
12) comments of the Supreme Chamber of Control on the reports of the Council of Ministers concerning the achievement of social and economic goals and on the implementation of the Budget, as well as the report of the Supreme Chamber of Control on its own activity;
13) information from the Constitutional Tribunal on important problems resulting from its activity and decisions;
14) annual reports of the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights relating to his activity and his comments on the respect accorded to citizens' rights and freedoms;
15) annual reports on the activity of the National Council of Radio Broadcasting and Television;
15a) regular information about the participation of the Republic of Poland in the activities of the European Union.”
16) matters related to the implementation and exercise of acts and resolutions of the Sejm;
17) current information and questions on current issues;
18) other matters submitted or referred by the President, the Council of Ministers, the Presidium of the Sejm, Sejm committees and by the Deputies.
Article 170
1. The President may participate in a sitting when he considers it advisable to do so.
2. Members of the Council of Ministers and the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control shall participate in the sittings of the Sejm and shall sign an attendance record to prove their presence. In the event of inability to attend a sitting, they may designate an authorized substitute.
3. The Marshal of the Senate, the First President of the Supreme Court - the Chairperson of the Tribunal of State, the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Chairperson of the National Electoral Commission, the Chairperson of the National Council of the Judiciary, the President of the National Bank of Poland, the President of the National Council of Radio Broadcasting and Television, the Inspector General for the Protection of Personal Data, the Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland and Secretaries of State within the Chancellery of the President may participate in sittings of the Sejm.
4. The right to attend the Chamber shall also belong to persons and delegations invited by the Marshal of the Sejm, as well as employees of the Chancellery of the Sejm authorized by him.
Article 171
1. The Marshal of the Sejm, no later than the 7th day before a scheduled sitting, shall notify the time and orders of the day to the Deputies, the President, the Marshal of the Senate, members of the Council of Ministers, the First President of the Supreme Court, the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control, the President of the National Bank of Poland and the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights.
2. In clearly reasonable cases, the time limit referred to in para. 1 may be shortened.
Article 172
1. Sittings of the Sejm shall be open to the public. The public nature of sittings of the Sejm shall be particularly ensured by: 1) prior information to the general public about sittings of the Sejm; 2) enabling the press, radio and television to report on sittings of the Sejm ; 3) enabling the public, subject to regulations made by the Marshal of the Sejm, to watch the sittings from the gallery in the Chamber.
2. In cases of great national importance, the Sejm may, on a motion of the Presidium of the Sejm or at least 30 Deputies, resolve to hold a sitting in camera.
3. The Sejm shall, after hearing the reasons for the motion and without debate, resolve whether to hold a sitting in camera without admittance to the public, the representatives of the press, radio and television. The resolution in favour of a closed hearing shall be passed by an absolute majority vote in the presence of at least half of the total number of the Deputies.
Article 173
1. Sittings of the Sejm shall be held at times set by the Presidium of the Sejm or by resolution of the Sejm.
2. The Marshal of the Sejm shall set the orders of the day for a Sejm sitting after hearing an opinion of the Council of Seniors.
3. Motions to supplement the proposed orders of the day shall be made by clubs, groups or at least 15 Deputies, and shall be presented in written form to the Marshal of the Sejm no later than 12 hours before the commencement of the sitting.
4. If there is no unanimous opinion of the Council of Seniors concerning the orders of the day, a decision on the disputed point shall be taken by the Sejm following presentation of the case by the Marshal of the Sejm. The vote shall not be preceded by any debate or posing of questions.
5. Motions, referred to in para. 3, which have not been accepted by the Marshal of the Sejm, shall be subject to decision of the Sejm taken within 6 months of their submission.
Article 174
1. Suggestions and comments offered by Deputies in the course of a sitting of the Sejm shall be carefully considered by the appropriate State organs, institutions and organizations.
2. The Marshal of the Sejm may request the appropriate organs, institutions and organizations to present their attitude towards a suggestion or comment made by a Deputy in the course of a sitting.
Article 175
1. The Marshal of the Sejm shall safeguard the observance of the Standing Orders of the Sejm in the course of its debates and shall maintain order in the Chamber.
2. The Marshal of the Sejm may reproach a Deputy who, speaking during a sitting, has gone beyond the subject of the debate specified in the order of the day, by calling him to keep to the point under discussion. After a second request to a Deputy to keep to the point under discussion, the Marshal may direct the speaker to discontinue his speech.
3. The Marshal of the Sejm after having reproached him, may call to order a Deputy who makes it impossible to carry out the debate.
4. In the event of non-compliance by a Deputy with the command of the Marshal of the Sejm, as referred to in para. 3, the Marshal of the Sejm shall have the right to repeatedly call to order the Deputy, stating that he makes it impossible to carry out the debate.
5. The Marshal of the Sejm shall have the right to decide to expel from a sitting any Deputy who indulges in making it impossible to carry out the debate and who, during the same sitting, has been admonished under the procedure specified in para. 4. Any Deputy expelled from the sitting shall immediately leave the Chamber. If that Deputy fails to leave the Chamber, the Marshal of the Sejm shall order a recess in the debate.
6. A Deputy may appeal from the decision of the Marshal of the Sejm to the Presidium of the Sejm, which shall immediately consider the case in consultation with the Rules and Deputies' Affairs Committee. The Deputy shall not participate in a sitting until a decision in his case is reached.
7. The Presidium of the Sejm shall immediately, but no later than at the next sitting, notify the Sejm about the result of the appeal. The decision of the Presidium of the Sejm shall be final.
Article 176
1. Minutes and a shorthand report, which shall constitute the sole official record of the proceedings in the debate, shall be drawn up from a sitting of the Sejm.
2. A shorthand report shall contain a complete, stylistically edited record of proceedings in the debate and the appendices - the texts of interpellations and answers to them, specifications of bills and draft resolutions introduced in the debate, specification of results of votes by roll call. A shorthand report shall also contain texts which have not been heard in the Sejm, if the Marshal of the Sejm, on request of a Deputy, has given his consent to their publication in such form. Any text which has not been heard shall be marked in such a way as to make it easy to distinguish it from texts heard.
3. A Deputy, and any participant in the sitting, who takes part in the debate, may authenticate his speech, making editorial corrections, not later than within 5 hours following the time of delivery of the speech. Corrections lodged after that time limit shall be entered in the next shorthand report.
4. The minutes of a sitting shall contain a short record of proceedings of the debate and, in the appendices - complete texts of bills passed, resolutions adopted, reports and motions submitted, as well as other materials considered by the Sejm.
5. A Deputy, and any participant in the sitting, who takes part in the debate, may raise objections to the minutes drawn up, no later than the moment of commencement of the next sitting of the Sejm. The decision whether to accept or reject an amendment shall be taken by the Sejm by a majority vote, without discussion.
6. Minutes, to which no objections have been raised or amendments offered, shall be considered accepted. The acceptance of the minutes shall be indicated by the signature of the Marshal of the Sejm, or of the Vice-Marshal presiding over the debate, along with the signature of the secretary of the sitting responsible for drawing up the minutes. The minutes, stamped with the seal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, shall be kept in Sejm Archives.
7. The Marshal of the Sejm shall order printing of shorthand reports.
Article 177
Locations of collective work by Deputies shall be no smoking areas.