ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the basic parameters of democratic constitutionalism required in political systems that want to be called democratic and constitutional. It explains the concepts of constitutional moments and constituent power analysed and developed in relation to the political reality of Poland over the past two decades. The term democratic constitutionalism' occurs only infrequently in the vast body of literature on constitutional theory, unlike the concept of constitutional democracy, which is much more widely used. Democratic constitutionalism, might offer some insight even if not comprehensive into the nature of constitutional political processes by providing a conceptual framework for assessing whether constitutional politics was/is open, inclusive, accountable and responsive, whether it satisfies the basic democratic criteria. Scholarship on constitutional theory has not yet managed to produce a conceptual framework able to capture and make sense of the politics behind the constitutional changes which swept the CEE in the 1990s and assess their impact on the prospects of democratic consolidation and constitutionalism.
