Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Poland conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska
Data code: PL
Government type: republic
Capital: Warsaw
Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular -
wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie,
Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie,
Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie,
Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie
Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791); Independence Day,
November 11 (1918)
Constitution: 16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly on 2
April 1997; passed by national referendum 23 May 1997
Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts although under the new constitution, the Constitutional Tribunal ruling will become final as of October 1999; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal