Justice Minister Adam Bodnar’s idea about changes in the National Council for the Judiciary not only sounds quite dangerous, but also raises some concerns among the ruling coalition. However, it appears that Bodnar no longer wants the terms of the members of the National Council for the Judiciary elected after 2017 to be shortened. Now he wants to acknowledge that the Council in its current form… never existed at all.
Justice Minister and Attorney General Adam Bodnar in Donald Tusk’s government was tasked with “restoring the rule of law”, although he uses surprising methods to do so. If there is no support for introducing ‘strong people’ and ‘liquidators’ into the public media, then the prerogatives of the president are questioned, which we could see, for example, in the situation of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik . Another time – appointing their nominees to non-existent positions at the National Public Prosecution Service and nailing nameplates to the cupboard doors.
It is therefore not surprising that any changes to the justice system announced by the current coalition could raise concerns. But Poles are concerned, especially those of the opposition, because according to the EU institutions, everything is in order with the Polish rule of law.
Bodnar’s concept
Opposition politicians have recently raised the alarm over the current ruling coalition’s attempt to attack the Constitutional Court. What does Bodnar’s plan for the National Council for the Judiciary look like?
The draft amendment to the National Council for the Judiciary Act was published on January 12, 2024. It was drawn up by the Ministry of Justice. The main objective is to address the issues related to the current functioning of the council. The problem is that even within the government itself there are different ideas about how this should be done
– we read in the text of Patryk Słowik in Wirtualna Polska. The journalist points out that in less than a month, the Ministry of Justice has decided to make fundamental changes to an important part of the project.
The Justice Ministry’s January 11 proposal included: Shortening the terms of office of members of the National Council for the Judiciary elected under the 2017 provisions.
There will be no reduction of the term because… it hasn’t even started yet?
Government colleagues addressed questions and comments to Minister Bodnar. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that the draft does not provide for “the right of appeal to a court for members of the current National Council for the Judiciary whose mandate will be terminated by the proposed law”, meaning that we may involve a violation of the right to a court (i.e. Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights). Minister-member of the Council of Ministers Maciej Berek, in turn, expected “in-depth explanations” on the constitutionality of shortening the terms of office of members of the National Council for the Judiciary.
How did Bodnar answer these doubts? He changed his mind and no longer intends to shorten the terms of the members of the National Council for the Judiciary, deciding that the Council in its current form… did not exist at all.
The initiator of the project came to the conclusion that it is impossible to assume that these people have been properly chosen to sit on the National Council for the Judiciary, and that they would therefore actually exercise their mandate there.
– he wrote in information about the project addressed to Minister Berek.
There is no need to take legal actionbecause there is no basis to justify the filing of an appeal, nor any reference to the issue of shortening the terms of office of persons who – elected by the Sejm – had no mandate to serve as members of the National Council of the judicial power
– emphasized the head of the Ministry of Justice.
It increasingly seems that for the current ruling coalition the most important ‘legal act’ is actually the internet meme: ‘If something is not allowed, but you really want it, then you can do it.’ Because it is on this principle that further changes in individual institutions are made.
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– Member of Parliament from Sovereign Poland: Donald Tusk’s lawless government. Adam Bodnar questions the independence of judges and the Polish political order
aja/Wp.pl
Source: wPolityce