On April 24, 2025, a nationwide conference titled “Better Law. Assessment of the Effects of Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm of July 26, 2024” was held in the Polish Parliament (Sejm), organized by the Chancellery of the Marshal of the Sejm under the honorary patronage of Marshal Szymon Hołownia. The event provided the first public opportunity to evaluate the recent amendments to the Sejm’s Rules of Procedure, which introduced, among others, mandatory public consultations for legislative proposals, declarations of regulatory impact (DSR), and changes to the public hearing procedure.
At the invitation of the organizers, Prof. Joanna Podgórska-Rykała (University of the Commission of National Education in Kraków) participated in the conference, also representing our research team. Her presentation, titled “Is There Room for Deliberation in the Sejm?”, concluded the third panel of the conference, which focused on academic
perspectives. Prof. Podgórska-Rykała offered an analysis of the regulatory changes through the lens of developing deliberative mechanisms in the Polish legislative process, reflecting on the potential for introducing and strengthening deliberative forms of public participation within parliamentary procedures.
The presentation also served as an excellent opportunity to promote our latest publication, Deliberative Innovations, published by C.H.Beck Publishing House. This book is the first comprehensive analysis in the region of democratic deliberative innovations—such as citizens’ assemblies—from the perspectives of political science, sociology, and the practice of public participation.
The event brought together members of the Sejm Presidium, the Chancellery of the Sejm, experts, civil society organizations, and scholars engaged in the fields of public consultation, legal regulation, and civic participation. It marked an important step toward creating a more inclusive and transparent legislative process in Poland and demonstrated a growing interest in institutional deliberation mechanisms.
