The influence of Prussian and German constitutional solutions on the development of modern state audits in Poland

Abstract

As a result of significant changes to political, social and economic realities in the aftermath of World War I, numerous European countries either introduced a state-audit system or reorganized the existing one. For many states, especially in Central-Eastern Europe, foundations for the development of a modern state-audit system was provided by Prussian and German constitutional and administrative solutions. This article aims to answer a question of an extent to which Polish legislation has borrowed from and been inspired by Prussian and German solutions to create Polish modern state-audit system. The motivation to research modern Polish state-audit authorities’ origin story came from the characteristic emphases found in existing research. On the one hand, there are many publications concerning legal and constitutional status of the highest organs of the state-audit system in the interwar period. On the other hand, the problem of the influence of German solutions on the legal status and functioning of the Supreme Audit Office (Najwyższa Izba Kontroli) has not undergone so far more extensive comparative studies.

Keywords

• state-audit authorities
• supreme audit office
• rechnungshof
• the weimar constitution
• the march constitution