On May 15, H. E. Mr. Maciej Szymański, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Bulgaria,

hosted a reception on the occasion of the Constitution Day, May 3rd. The beautiful garden and halls of the Embassy were filled with numerous guests who came to honor the national holiday of the country currently presiding over the Council of the European Union. Ministers, ambassadors, diplomats, politicians, representatives of the high-ranking Bulgarian administration, business, culture, media, as well as of the Polish community in our country were present. The reception was also honored by His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia, Daniil.

The Constitution Day is proudly celebrated by Poles on May 3rd, the date in 1791 when the Ustawę Rządową Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów was adopted. It is recognized as the first modern written constitution in Europe and the second in the world.

The reception began with the national anthems of the two countries and of the EU, after which H. E. Mr. Maciej Szymański addressed the guests with a welcome speech:

Today, we are celebrating the Polish national holiday – the Constitution Day of May 3rd. We are not marking it exactly on the day of the 234th anniversary of its adoption, because we wanted to give you the opportunity to join us and share our joy. This year, May 3rd fell in the middle of the record-long May Day holidays, which – we hope – you managed to use for some well-deserved rest.

The Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, is a source of pride for us. We are the second country in the world after the United States to adopt a modern legislative act. Unfortunately, according to two of its authors, the May 3rd Constitution was ‘the last will and testament of a dying homeland.’ Just a year later, Poland’s neighbors – Russia, Prussia, and Austria – carried out the first partition of our country.

Although we are proud of the May 3rd Constitution, which represents a significant achievement of Polish political and legal thought, we must also learn from this chapter in our history. It turns out that a state in which citizens – including the king himself – do not obey their own laws becomes weak and defenseless.

This is not the only painful lesson about the importance of respecting the law in our history. We experienced another one with the start of World War II in 1939. Then, the guarantees of security based on international law and bilateral agreements – supported by both our allies and potential aggressors – remained only on paper. The sword proved stronger than the pen that wrote these laws, and the young Polish state, reborn after 123 years of nonexistence, failed to defend itself against the aggression of Germany and Russia.

These two lessons taught us that the law – on its own – is not enough to ensure the security of the state, and that real defense power is just as important as shared values. It is correct to say that we prefer the power of law to the law of power, but in the international context, this may be somewhat naive. The Polish historical example, as well as the contemporary Ukrainian one, shows that if we want to be protected by wise laws, we must know how to defend them. Hence the motto of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union: ‘Security, Europe!’

As we celebrate the first modern constitution of a European country, let us rejoice in the fact that at that time we managed to create good legislation in difficult times. Now we must ensure that our freedom and our collective will, expressed in our Constitutions, are not taken from us or trampled on by someone who does not respect the law.

After the speech by His Excellency, guests engaged in lively conversations, and the festive atmosphere was enhanced by excellent catering with traditional Polish specialties and drinks.

Photos provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the Republic of Bulgaria.

In the photo above: H. E. Mr. Maciej Szymański, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Bulgaria