SECTION III

1. Senators, before accepting their seat, at the first sitting of the Senate, shall take an oath of office in accordance with the Senators' oath code.

2. A Senator absent at the first sitting of the Senate shall take the oath at the next sitting at which he is present.

3. Cases of Senators who have refused to take the oath or who have not taken the oath within 3 months of the date of the first sitting, shall be handled by the Presidium of the Senate. After having sought the opinion of the Rules and Senate Affairs Committee the Presidium of the Senate will state whether the reasons for failing to take the oath are indicative of an attempt to avoid taking the oath.

4. After taking the oath of office a Senator is issued with his Senator’s identity document.

1. A Senator shall be obliged to attend and participate actively in sittings of the Senate and Senate bodies to which he has been elected.

2. Senators can request the Marshal of the Senate or Presidium of the Senate for the Senate or Senate committees to consider specific issues.

3. A Senator participating in a sitting may not decline to take part in voting. Voting may only be performed in person.

4. A Senator may not decline, without valid reason, to undertake a function in the Senate bodies.

5. A Senator shall be entitled to regular assistance from the Senate Chancellery.

6. A Senator – rapporteur of motions from joint committees is obliged to represent the Senate during work on considering Senate resolutions by Sejm committees. In a situation where the acceptance of a Senate resolution is not preceded with a sitting of the joint committees, then the obligation to represent the Senate rests with one of the rapporteurs from the committees appointed by their chairmen.

7. In the event of an obstacle preventing a Senator – rapporteur from participating in a sitting of Sejm committees, the chairmen of the Senate committees, specified in para. 6, will appoint another Senator, who will perform the duties of rapporteur.

1. A Senator may be a member of, at the most, two standing committees, and may also participate in the work of other committees but without the right to vote.

2. A Senator fulfilling the function of minister or secretary of state cannot be a member of a Senate committee, the subject area of which is covered by his activities in government administration where the Senator holds one of the aforementioned positions.

3. A Senator shall be obliged to declare his candidacy for at least one standing committee.

4. A Senator may be a member of more than two committees having secured the permission of the Presidium of the Senate.

1. Senators can establish Senate clubs or Senate groups organised along political lines in the Senate.

2. Clubs are created by at least 7 Senators.

3. Groups are created by at least 3 Senators.

4. A Senator can only belong to one Senate club or Senate group.

5. Senate clubs or Senate groups can appoint a joint representative in the Convention of Elders on the basis of mutual agreements.

6. Senators can create groupings at the Senate organised according to other principles than those set forth in para. 1.

7. The authorities of clubs, groups or groupings and agreements will present their composition and internal rules to the Presidium of the Senate.

1. A Senator shall confirm his presence at a sitting of the Senate and its bodies by signing the roll. The presence of a Senator at a sitting of the Senate is also confirmed by printouts of participation in votes.

2. In case of an impediment making his presence at a sitting impossible, a Senator should give reasons for his absence in writing, within 7 days of the occurrence. The letter should be addressed to the Marshal of the Senate or in case of a committee sitting - to the chairman of that committee.

3. Absence, without leave, at two sittings of the Senate or at three sittings of standing committees, in the course of a year, is adjudged in accordance with Article 25.

4. In the case of a Senator's absence, without leave, at a Senate sitting, an appropriate note shall be entered in the roll.

5. The Marshal of the Senate shall order a reduction in a salary and a parliamentary per diem allowance, or one of these payments if just one is due to a Senator:

Article 24 applies respectively with respect to Senators who do not collect a salary or a per diem allowance.

6. In the event of an unjustified absence at a Senate sitting and a committee sitting or committee sittings coinciding on the same day only one reduction as specified in para. 5 shall apply.

7. A Senator affected by an order of the Marshal as specified in para. 5 can appeal to the Marshal for a further consideration of his case. An order from the Marshal issued as a result of consideration of this appeal, after seeking the opinion of the Rules and Senate Affairs Committee, shall be final.

The Presidium of the Senate, upon a motion from a Senator, may grant him leave of absence for valid reasons. During the leave of absence, the Senator's salary and per diem allowance may be suspended.

1. Cases of Senators who are accused of a breach or failure to adhere to the duties defined in Article 33-35a of the Act on the exercise of the Deputy’s and Senator’s mandate, shall be considered by the Presidium of the Senate after seeking the opinion of the Rules and Senate Affairs Committee.

2. The Presidium of the Senate, after considering a case as specified in para. 1, may by means of a resolution:

3. The Presidium of the Senate may inform the Senate of the resolution specified in para. 2.

4. A Senator is entitled to appeal to the Senate against the resolution of the Presidium of the Senate within 14 days of its delivery. The Senate shall hear the appeal by listening to a representative of the Presidium of the Senate and possibly the Senator in question; no discussion shall be conducted on the appeal.

5. The Senate may, after hearing the appeal, resolve to annul or maintain the validity of the resolution of the Presidium of the Senate.

1. Cases of Senators who do not fulfil their senatorial duties, as well as of the Senators who act in a manner unbecoming the Senator’s dignity, upon a motion from the Presidium of the Senate, shall be considered by the Rules and Senate Affairs Committee.

2. The Rules and Senate Affairs Committee may, pursuant to the consideration of cases cited in para. 1 above, by means of a resolution:

3. A Senator may appeal against a decision of the Committee to the Presidium of the Senate within 14 days of its delivery. The appeal shall be addressed to the Marshal of the Senate who shall present it at a sitting of the Presidium of the Senate. The ruling of the Presidium of the Senate shall be final.

1. A motion for grant of consent to bring a Senator to accountability for commission of offences or misdemeanors or to grant consent to arrest or detain him, shall be submitted to the Marshal of the Senate who shall refer such motion to the Rules and Senate Affairs Committee for consideration.

2. The Committee shall notify the Senator in question about the substance of the motion and the date of its consideration by the Committee.

3. The Senator concerned may present to the Committee an explanation and his own motion in the matter, in writing or verbally, as well as appoint an advocate from among the Senators.

4. Upon consideration of the case the Committee shall present a report.

5. The Senate shall consider the Committee's report. The report shall not be subject to discussion. The Senator concerned may present an explanation and the Senators shall have the right to ask questions in the matter.

6. The Senate shall grant consent to bring a Senator to accountability for commission of offences or misdemeanors or to grant consent to arrest or detain him, by taking a secret ballot with at least a 2/3 majority vote with the presence of at least half of the statutory number of Senators.

7. In the event of the Senator in question expressing consent to being accountable for commission of offences or misdemeanors the provisions of paras. 1-6 shall not apply.

The provisions of article 26, paras. 1 - 6 are applicable respectively to proceedings where the Senate grants its consent to bring a Senator to amenability to the law during his mandate and after its expiry, in the event of a breach of third party rights.

1. Expiration of a Senator's mandate shall be declared by the Senate after hearing the motion of the Rules and Senate Affairs Committee.

2. The expiry of a Senator’s mandate due to his refusal to take the oath of office or his avoidance of taking the oath of office shall be declared by the Senate after hearing the motion of the Presidium of the Senate.