Senior constitutional scholars are urged to examine the Sejm’s draft resolutions concerning the dismissal of Constitutional Court judges and changes to the National Council for the Judiciary to determine their constitutional validity, according to Senior Marshal Marek Sawicki.
Are there moves aiming at the Constitutional Court and the National Council for the Judiciary?
On Tuesday, parliamentary deputy Borys Budka from the Civic Coalition argued that the justice system must be restored in the proper sequence.
“First, the election of three Constitutional Court judges should be declared invalid, because it concerns the implementation of a 2015 legal judgment of the Tribunal. It is clear that the Sejm can make this declaration, since the 2015 parliamentary majority made an original error that needs correction”, Budka stated on TVN24.
Reports indicate the Sejm resolution will address the status of Constitutional Court judges elected by the Sejm and sworn in by President Andrzej Duda at the end of 2015; those appointments drew criticism from the opposition and many in the legal community, who argued that the judges had been improperly selected.
“Constitutional faults must be resolved through lawful means.”
When asked by PAP about the Sejm’s draft resolutions on the Constitutional Tribunal and the National Council for the Judiciary, Sawicki said eminent constitutionalists should review whether the resolutions would be constitutional. He added that there have been too many constitutional torts in recent years, and stressed the need to restore constitutional order in Poland using legal avenues.
He also noted that it is important to determine legally whether the measures have binding force and are truly lawful.
Sawicki pointed out that many international judgments at the Court of Justice have been affected, in his view, by the National Council for the Judiciary’s constitutional status, and that such judgments could be declared invalid as a result. This could harm Polish citizens in an instant, he warned.
He emphasized that anyone who was previously a defendant before a judge nominated by the new National Council for the Judiciary might lack assurance that their ruling will be final.
Therefore, the matter should be resolved promptly so people understand the legal conditions under which courts operate, Sawicki argued.
The valuable perspective of Prof. Piotrowski
Constitutionalist Prof. Ryszard Piotrowski believes that a Sejm resolution dismissing Constitutional Tribunal judges would clash with the Constitution. He argued that the constitution forbids treating the end as justifying the means, because public institutions must function reliably and efficiently.
Asked about possible changes to the National Council for the Judiciary, Piotrowski stressed that such changes would be contrary to the Constitution. He cautioned that any move perceived as bypassing constitutional rules would undermine the legal framework that governs judicial independence.
READ ALSO: Constitutionalist clarifies that a resolution on dismissing Constitutional Tribunal judges would contradict the Constitution. The discussion is framed as restoring order and rule of law.
On October 8, 2015, the seventh-term Sejm, largely supported by the then PO-PSL coalition, elected five new Constitutional Court judges: Roman Hauser, Krzysztof Ślebzak, Andrzej Jakubecki, Bronisław Sitek, and Andrzej Sokala. They succeeded three judges ending their terms on November 6, with others finishing in December in the following term.
On November 25, the Sejm of the new term adopted PiS-proposed resolutions declaring the October 8 election to have no legal force. On December 2, the Sejm elected Julia Przyłębska, Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, Mariusz Muszyński, and Piotr Pszczółkowski, all tapped by PiS and approved by President Duda.
On December 3, 2015, the Constitutional Court ruled that the earlier Sejm had chosen two judges in a manner contrary to the constitution, while the election of the remaining three judges in November was deemed consistent with the constitution. The Court also asserted that the president was obliged to administer the oath of office for any newly elected judge immediately.
Julia Przyłębska, President of the Constitutional Tribunal, highlighted at the General Assembly of Judges that any attempt to undermine the status of Constitutional Court judges, whether by national or international bodies, contradicts the powers of the Sejm and the President and violates the constitutional principle of separation and balance of powers.
READ MORE: Zaradkiewicz: Truly independent judges are prepared for any scenario. The attackers will eventually face justice.
olnk/PAP
Source: wPolityce