This week, preparations were being made in the Sejm for the start of the second session, until suddenly the news broke that Marshal Hołownia would cancel it and that the next one – the third session of the Sejm – would take place on Friday. After the meeting of the Convention of Seniors and the Presidium of the Sejm, Marshal Hołownia announced at a press conference that he would cancel both sessions this week and decided that they would take place next week.
Termination of the mandates of Wąsik and Kamiński
The Marshal justified this decision with the need to calm the situation caused by the illegal attempt to deprive two MPs, Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, of their mandates, which he himself caused with his irresponsible decisions.
Let us not forget that Marshal Hołownia decided to terminate the mandates of both MPs based on the judgment of the District Court in Warsaw, knowing that both MPs are subject to President Andrzej Duda’s 2015 pardon law. Even though the act of pardon was issued in a situation in which both MPs were only present after the judgment in first instance, because in accordance with art. 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which reads: “The President of the Republic of Poland performs an act of mercy. The “right to pardon does not apply to persons convicted by the State Tribunal”, this right is unlimited, this right of pardon is final. Moreover, in this situation, Marshal Hołownia did not take into account the presidential act of mercy and decided to cancel the mandates of MPs Kamiński and Wąsik. He informed them that they had the right to appeal to the Supreme Court. These appeals were filed by both parliamentarians and, moreover, they were heard by the Chamber for Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court, which agreed with the complainants and annulled Marshal Hołownia’s decision. Although the Chamber of Labor and Social Security, to which Marshal Hołownia addressed the dismissal of MP Kamiński in a blatant violation of the law, agreed with the Marshal, the first President of the Supreme Court resolved the competency dispute between the chambers and appointed ultimately the Court of Auditors. to decide the case.
In this situation, Marshal Hołownia has no choice but to accept the decision of the Supreme Court Control Chamber and state that the expiry of the mandates of both deputies has proven to be illegal and that they can therefore fulfill their mandates. However, it seems that under pressure from Prime Minister Tusk on this issue, Marshal Hołownia will go further, especially after the arrest and imprisonment of both MPs. He will therefore probably conclude that the mandates of both parliamentarians have in fact expired; in the case of MP Kamiński, he has already announced this in Monitor Polski and will try, through the National Electoral Commission, to fill the vacant seat.
What does the Constitution say?
However, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the Sejm consists of 460 deputies and if, for example, two of them cannot effectively fulfill their mandate because they cannot vote, legal acts adopted by such a composition can be considered. as non-existent. However, next week the governing coalition wants to approve the budget so that, after it is adopted by the Senate, it will be on the desk of the President of the Republic of Poland on January 29. should it become apparent whether the proposal has been adopted in accordance with the procedure of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, it may be submitted to the Constitutional Court. Since the Constitutional Court has a maximum of two months to hear such a complaint, the President of the Republic of Poland may decide that the budget has not been adopted within fourteen days, dissolve Parliament and order new elections. The ruling coalition must therefore decide in the coming days whether to proceed with decisions that are contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the laws, such as in the case of the attack on public media or revenge on MPs Kamiński and Wąsik , or that they will withdraw from these decisions and, in compliance with the legal order in Poland, adopt budgetary and other laws and thus implement their election manifestos.
Source: wPolityce