1E9Ct5D

Doing Business in Poland1.3 GovernmentGovernment TypePoland is a parliamentary republic. The supreme law of Poland is the Constitution passed on2 April 1997, ratified by a national referendum. The government system of the Republic ofPoland is based on the separation of and balance between the legislative, executive, andjudicial powers.The executive function is fulfilled by the Prime Minister elected by the Sejm, and President,who is elected every 5 years. There is a bi-cameral legislature comprising of the Sejm (LowerHouse of Parliament with 460 seats elected for 4 years) and the Senate (Upper House with100 seats elected for 4 years).The judicial authority is vested in independent common, administrative, and military courts, aswell as the Constitutional Tribunal. The Supreme Court is the highest body supervising thejudiciary, which ensures that the judicature of lower courts is uniform and in accordance withlaw. The consideration of appeals comes under its power. The Supreme Court arbitrates legaldisputes, hears election protests, and certifies the validity of parliamentary and presidentialelections. Moreover, it certifies the validity of constitutional and nationwide referenda.CapitalThe capital of Poland is Warsaw with a population of approximately 2.1 million inhabitants.The largest port is Gdańsk and other important cities include: Kraków, Poznań, Katowice,Wrocław and Łódź.Administrative DivisionPoland is divided into a national and local administrations. There are 16 provinces[województwa], 379 districts [powiaty], and 2,479 communes or counties [gminy].Political SituationIn the autumn of 2011, the vote was won by Civic Platform (PO) which formed a majoritycoalition with the agrarian Polish Peasants' Party (PSL). From 18 November 2011 theGovernment is formed by the PO-led Cabinet of PM Donald Tusk. The opposition currentlyrepresented in Parliament includes the conservative PiS (Law and Justice), the centre-leftUnion of Social-Democracy (SLD) and centre-left Ruch Palikota (RP).1.4 EconomyGDP real growthrateInflation rate(consumer prices)1.4 % (III Quarters 2012)2.8 % (November 2012 )Unemployment rate 13.30% (December 2012)Main exportcountries:Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Czech Republic,Russia, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Ukraine5