A longside the territorial self-government in gminas, poviats and voivodships, the central government is represented in the voivodship by the voivod. A state appointed voivod is responsible for ensuring that national policies are executed and enforced within the voivoodship, and that state institutions operating in the region perform their functions appropriately. This dual structure of public administration at the voivodship level strengthens the Polish state and ensures the maintenance of its unitary character.
 
      Owing to their responsibilities and powers as representatives of the Prime Minister, and in some cases, line ministers, the voivods are accountable to the central government and focus on the legal supervision of the activites of gmina, poviat and voivodship self-governments. The voivod can annul decisions made by self-governments, should they be inconsistent with the statutory law. Such an annulment may be sued in the Administrative Court by the interested local or regional government and then be subject to the court's decision. This division of power ensurces cohesion betweeen the actions of local and regional self-governments and the uniformity of key national policies.
 
      Voivods are responsible for all services related to law-enforcement and public security. They are answerable to their superiors for the operations of governmental services, that they bear responibility for, in the area of public order and security. In this respect, voivods co-operate with poviat administrations which are also responsible for public order and security to their local constituencies (the maintenance of police, fire stations, sanitary and veterinary inspectorates, and environmental control).
 
      All organisational units which perform public order and public safety functions, including the self-governmeental poviat and office of the voivod itself, constitute, togheter with the respective central units, unitary public administration services.