ustawodawczy

Ustawodawczy is a Polish adjective that describes anything related to the making of laws. It is used to refer to the legislative power, the legislative process, or institutions that enact statutes. The corresponding noun forms include ustawodawca (the lawgiver) and ustawodawstwo (the body of lawmaking). The term derives from the noun ustawa (law) with the suffix -odawczy, indicating a function or activity related to creating laws.

In political science and law, ustawodawczy refers to the part of government responsible for creating statutes, generally contrasted with the executive and judicial branches. It encompasses both the institutions that perform lawmaking and the processes by which laws are drafted, debated, and enacted. The phrase władza ustawodawcza specifically denotes the legislative power.

In Poland, the core of the władza ustawodawcza is the Parliament, comprising the Sejm and the Senate. Legislation can be initiated by various actors, such as the government, MPs, or other authorized bodies, and proceeds through drafting, committee work, readings, and votes before being promulgated by the President and published in Dziennik Ustaw. A set of new laws may be described as a “pakiet ustawodawczy.”

The term is also used in comparative constitutional analysis and academic writing to discuss how different systems organize lawmaking. While legislacyjny is a closely related synonym in many contexts, ustawodawczy specifically emphasizes the act or power of enacting statutes.