The “hunt” for MPs Kamiński and Wąsik is just an escalation of lawlessness and degradation of the current government. And she has been in power for less than a month.
In this case everything is turned upside down, and above all we have clear evidence of the collapse of the legal system in Poland. Falling down with a big crash. And the fall of the executive power, which is best illustrated by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s conference on January 9, 2024. The fall of the judiciary means that there should be no ruling from the court in Warsaw on December 20, 2023, in which the PiS MPs – Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik – are (formally) legally sentenced to two years of absolute imprisonment. The fall of the executive power and of Prime Minister Tusk himself consists of the commission of a crime prosecuted under art. 128 pair 3 of the Criminal Code: “Whoever, by force or unlawful threat, influences the official activities of a constitutional body of the Republic of Poland shall be subject to a prison sentence of one to ten years.”
Tusk also referred to the Criminal Code (Article 239): “Whoever obstructs or frustrates criminal proceedings by helping the perpetrator of a crime, including a tax crime, to avoid criminal liability, in particular the person who conceals the perpetrator, knew the traces of a crime, includes a crime tax office or serves a sentence for the convicted person, shall be punished with imprisonment from three months to five years. This is just proof of Donald Tusk’s complete ignorance. And pride that blinds him. Every average first-year law student knows that the President of the Republic of Poland is not subject to prosecution under the Criminal Code, and can only be brought to trial by the State Court (Article 145 of the Constitution). So let’s buy some popcorn and wait for the almighty Tusk to gather 374 votes from the National Assembly, because that’s what it takes to take the president to the tribunal. So we can definitely say: don’t jump, because you won’t land. The rest are just fooling the Poles.
The legally ignorant Tusk decided that he had to warn the President of the Republic of Poland that he was “involved” in “sabotaging the constitution, sabotaging legal provisions, ignoring court decisions and abusing the power you have in many places you still have for private interests. of convicted people.” President Andrzej Duda has not been involved in anything, and Donald Tusk has no idea what is allowed under Polish law and what the hierarchy of this law is. It is not the president, but the current prime minister who “for the good of the Polish state must stop this spectacle, it is leading us to a very dangerous situation.”
Donald Tusk is free to believe that the government and himself are not bound by art. 7 and 10 of the Constitution, but they are still valid, that is, they act on the basis and within the limits of the law and the balance of power. And in accordance with them, Tusk is also bound by the judgment of the Constitutional Court of June 2, 2023 (full court). In this judgment, the Constitutional Tribunal stated that “the power of pardon is the exclusive and uncontrollable prerogative of the President of the Republic of Poland, which has ultimate legal consequences.” That “the Supreme Court does not have the power to exercise control having legal effects over the exercise of the powers of the President of the Republic of Poland.”
Moreover, the ordinary courts do not have the power to exercise control with legal effects over the exercise of the powers of the President of the Republic of Poland. Such as the court in Warsaw, which issued a judgment dated December 20, 2023. From the point of view of the legal order of the Republic of Poland, this judgment has no consequences because it was pronounced in a procedure that had no right to legal aid. executed and is invalid. Since November 16, 2015, Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik have been legally pardoned, which means they have all rights.
In the ruling of June 2, 2023, the Constitutional Court referred to its judgment of July 17, 2018, which stated that “the President of the Republic of Poland may exercise the right to pardon at any time without having to wait for the fulfillment of his obligations. all formulas provided for in criminal proceedings.” The President, therefore, has full discretion in administering this law, is under no obligation to justify the act of mercy, and the act promulgated is final, permanent, and irreversible. And it doesn’t matter that the Supreme Court decided in July 2017 that presidential clemency power can only be applied to people who have been legally convicted. This ruling was canceled by the judgment of the Constitutional Court of July 17, 2018, and confirmed by that of June 2, 2023. Either there is a constitutional legal hierarchy in Poland, or we have the dictatorship of Donald Tusk. The current Prime Minister is doing everything he can to ensure that the second option is available.
Power referred to in art. 139 of the Constitution (the power of pardon) is a power of the President exercised personally and without the intervention of other entities, including courts. This power is not subject to the control of the judiciary. The exercise of the pardon power does not require a countersignature by the Prime Minister, meaning that the right to pardon is a personal constitutional right of the President. And it must be implemented directly by the head of state. The issue of independent decision-making must be distinguished from preparatory or advisory activities. They are intended to allow the president to make the right decision about a possible pardon. However, they are subordinate to the exercise of the law of grace.
The power of pardon as a prerogative of the President is a manifestation of the balancing of the judiciary (in accordance with Article 10(1) of the Constitution). It is the Constitution that establishes a specific legal instrument that balances decisions of the judiciary. Constitutional liability for acts of mercy is limited to situations where such acts are committed contrary to law. However, the provisions of the Constitution do not specify any guidelines for the application of the law of pardons. This means that the president has complete discretion in determining the criteria for applying the law of pardons. And is not bound by the guidelines contained in art. 563 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, because they are addressed to the courts and the Attorney General as the bodies that review clemency requests to the President.
The application of a constitutionally determined power cannot be determined by a provision of lower rank. Furthermore, the Constitution does not provide for the promulgation of a law that would implement the provisions of art. 139, meaning that there is no constitutional basis for legislating the scope of the pardon law. The Supreme Court may assume the right to question the constitutionality of art. 139 of the Constitution, but this has no basis in terms of the powers conferred on the Supreme Court by the Constitution and the Act.
It is not surprising that Donald Tusk embarrasses himself again and even commits a crime by threatening the president. It is surprising that judges are involved in this chutzpah, but they should not be legal ignoramuses like Donald Tusk. And everything else, that is, first of all, the “hunt” for MPs Kamiński and Wójcik, is just an escalation of lawlessness and degradation of the current government. And she has been in power for less than a month.
Source: wPolityce