Editing Poland (section)

=== Law ===
{{Main|Law of Poland}}
[[File:Manuscript of the Constitution of the 3rd May 1791.PNG|thumb|right|upright|The [[Constitution of May 3, 1791|Constitution of 3 May]] adopted in 1791 was the first modern constitution in Europe.]]

The [[Constitution of Poland]] is the enacted supreme law, and Polish judicature is based on the principle of civil rights, governed by the code of [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kamarad |first1=Ewa |title=Private International Law in Poland |last2=Wysocka-Bar |first2=Anna |date=2020 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-2961-5 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |language=en |chapter=General Introduction, s. 3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Supreme%2BAdministrative%2BCourt%2Bsupreme%2Bcourt%2Bconstitutional%2Btribunal%2Bpoland%22&pg=PT16 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180451/https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT16&dq=%22Supreme+Administrative+Court+supreme+court+constitutional+tribunal+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The current democratic constitution was adopted by the [[National Assembly of Poland]] on 2 April 1997; it guarantees a [[multi-party state]] with freedoms of religion, speech and gatherings, prohibits the practices of forced [[medical experimentation]], torture or [[corporal punishment]], and acknowledges the inviolability of the home, the right to form trade unions, and the right to [[Strike action|strike]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sejm of the Republic of Poland |title=Dziennik Ustaw nr 78: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland |url=http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm |access-date=9 March 2022 |website=sejm.gov.pl |publisher=National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) |language=en |archive-date=6 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906025331/https://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Judiciary of Poland|judiciary]] in Poland is composed of the [[Supreme Court of Poland|Supreme Court]] as the country's highest judicial organ, the [[Supreme Administrative Court of Poland|Supreme Administrative Court]] for the judicial control of public administration, Common Courts ([[District Court|District]], [[Regional Court (Poland)|Regional]], [[Appellate court|Appellate]]) and the [[Court-martial|Military Court]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kamarad |first1=Ewa |title=Private International Law in Poland |last2=Wysocka-Bar |first2=Anna |date=2020 |publisher=Kluwer Law International |isbn=978-94-035-2961-5 |location=Alphen aan den Rijn |language=en |chapter=General Introduction, s. 2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Supreme%2BAdministrative%2BCourt%2Bsupreme%2Bcourt%2Bconstitutional%2Btribunal%2Bpoland%22&pg=PT16 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180451/https://books.google.com/books?id=f4MSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT16&dq=%22Supreme+Administrative+Court+supreme+court+constitutional+tribunal+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)|Constitutional]] and State Tribunals are separate judicial bodies, which rule the constitutional liability of people holding the highest offices of state and supervise the compliance of [[statutory law]], thus protecting the Constitution.<ref name="Jaremba 2013">{{Cite book |last=Jaremba |first=Urszula |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcXMAQAAQBAJ&dq=%22judges%2Bappointed%2Bby%2Bpresident%2Bof%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA129 |title=National Judges As EU Law Judges: The Polish Civil Law System |date=2013 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-1-306-07095-9 |location=Boston |pages=126–129 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180506/https://books.google.com/books?id=CcXMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA129&dq=%22judges+appointed+by+president+of+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Judges are nominated by the [[National Council of the Judiciary]] and are appointed for life by the [[president of Poland|president]].<ref name="Jaremba 2013" /> With the approval of the Senate, the Sejm appoints an [[ombudsman]] for a five-year term to guard the observance of social justice.<ref name="Granat 2021" />

Poland has a low [[homicide]] rate at 0.7 murders per 100,000 people, as of 2018.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nations |first=United |date=2020 |title=Human Development Indicators – Poland |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/POL |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |access-date=16 December 2020 |website=Human Development Reports |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128095417/http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/POL |url-status=live }}</ref> Rape, assault and violent crime remain at a very low level.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Victims of intentional homicide 1990–2018 – Poland |url=https://dataunodc.un.org/content/data/homicide/homicide-rate |access-date=16 December 2020 |website=Data UNODC |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328012947/https://dataunodc.un.org/content/data/homicide/homicide-rate |url-status=live }}</ref> The country has imposed strict regulations on [[Abortion in Poland|abortion]], which is permitted only in cases of rape, incest or when the woman's life is in danger; [[congenital disorder]] is not covered by the law, prompting some women to seek abortion abroad.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Zsuzsa Csergo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibgzEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Babortion%2Brape%2Bincest%2Bdanger%22&pg=PA168 |title=Central and East European Politics: Changes and Challenges |last2=Daina Stukuls Eglitis |last3=Paula M Pickering |date=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-4279-0 |location=Lanham, Maryland |page=168 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180457/https://books.google.com/books?id=ibgzEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168&dq=%22poland+abortion+rape+incest+danger%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Historically, the most significant Polish legal act is the [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]]. Instituted to redress long-standing political defects of the [[federation|federative]] [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] and its [[Golden Liberty]], it was the first modern constitution in Europe and influenced many later [[democratic movement]]s across the globe.<ref name="Davies 1996" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Norman Davies |url=https://archive.org/details/europehistory00davi_0 |title=Europe: A History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/europehistory00davi_0/page/699 699] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gierowski |first=Józef Andrzej |url={{GBurl|id=IBNjywAACAAJ}} |title=Historia Polski, 1505–1764 |publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe |year=1986 |isbn=978-83-01-03732-1 |page=251 |language=pl |trans-title=History of Poland, 1505–1764 |author-link=Józef Andrzej Gierowski |access-date=26 October 2014}}</ref> In 1918, the [[Second Polish Republic]] became one of the first countries to introduce universal [[women's suffrage]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berglund |first=Sten |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOAEFRDAEi4C&dq=%22%2522poland%2522%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bfirst%2Bcountries%2Bto%2Bwomen%2527s%2Bsuffrage%2B1918%22&pg=PA46 |title=The Making of the European Union: Foundations, Institutions and Future Trends |date=2006 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing Press |isbn=978-1-84542-025-3 |location=Cheltenham |page=46 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180451/https://books.google.com/books?id=DOAEFRDAEi4C&pg=PA46&dq=%22%22poland%22+one+of+the+first+countries+to+women%27s+suffrage+1918%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>