[3] When the People's Republic of Poland ended in 1989, the new authorities faced the challenge of reforming the special services, which were viewed very negatively by most Poles.

In April 1990, a law was passed creating the Office of State Protection (UOP), which replaced the Departments I and II of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The UOP was a separate, neutral institution that was not part of the Ministry of the Interior, indicating the depoliticization of the intelligence services.

The Constitutional Court spoke on the matter, ruling in 2004 (after the 2002 reform) that giving the heads of the ABW and AW the rank of secretaries of state is unconstitutional, as it circumvents the prohibition on combining a parliamentary mandate with employment in government administration.

According to the CT ruling, the only legal effect of conferring the rank of secretary of state is the possibility of combining the position of agency head with a parliamentary mandate.