Martial law in Poland is often associated with the period of 13th December 1981 to 22 July 1983. Thousand of opposition activists were interned without charge, and as many as 100 people were killed. Although martial law was lifted in 1983, many of the political prisoners were not released until the general amnesty in 1986.
The introductory decrees of martial law were issued on 12 of December 1981, when the Polish Parliament Sejm was in session. The Constitutional Tribunal noted that the Polish Council of State was entitled to issue legal acts only in between the sessions of Sejm. That is why issuing the decrees of martial law was unlawful.
In the opinion of the Constitutional Tribunal, the activity of the Council of State violated not only the legislative proceedings but also the general rules concerning activity of public administration.
In reference to this judgment, it is worthwhile to remember the report concerning violations of human rights during the martial law period published by the Helsinki Committee in Poland at the Madrid Conference of the OSCE in March 1983. This report was also a groundwork of the International Inquiry Commission of the International Law Bureau. The Commission agreed with the conclusions of the report concerning the violation of labor rights during martial law.
A fragment of the report follows:
“The Article 31 paragraph 1 of the Polish Constitution states that the Council of State issues the decrees only between the Sejm’s session. Furthermore, the Constitution does not provide any provisions regarding issuing by the Council of State legal acts during the session of Sejm. The decrees of 12 December 1981 were issued during the Sejm’s session. The Council of State violated the provisions of Constitution by acting in this way. Under the rule of law the state authorities are required to act solely on the basis of the law. Violating this rule makes the decrees of 12 December 1981 illegal”.
