The Committee on Justice has only positively recommended one brief second reading amendment to the Supreme Court law, extending the vacatio legis from 14 to 21 days. The committee issued a negative opinion on all the opposition amendments.
READ ALSO: The amendment to the Supreme Court Act is again referred to the committee, with amendments to the bill tabled at second reading.
The Sejm’s Justice and Human Rights Committee reviewed the amendments proposed during the second reading of the Supreme Court law, which took place on Thursday afternoon.
The vast majority of the 15 amendments received negative opinions. They are the same amendments previously tabled by opposition clubs KO, Lewica, KP and the Polska 2050 circle at first reading.
The opposition amendments involve five changes: moving disciplinary cases from judges to the Supreme Court, removing provisions that allow prosecuting judges for their sentences, introducing seven years of seniority for judges in the Supreme Court who decide disciplinary cases, annulling all decisions of the disciplinary chamber, and granting courts and citizens the right to determine whether a judge in a given case is independent, effectively expanding the independence test in the draft Supreme Court law.
There are amendments tabled that would secure 100 percent access to KPO funds, according to the discussion.
Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz of KO, the committee’s vice chair, argued that the solutions in the draft Supreme Court bill do not address the core issue. She asserted that judges appointed by the neoKRS system remain on the Supreme Administrative Court, the body charged with hearing disciplinary cases against judges.
The submitted act may not unlock these funds from KPO, she stated.
The committee positively recommended only one amendment, proposed by the PiS club, extending the law’s vacatio legis from 14 to 21 days.
Przemysław Rosati, president of the Supreme Council of Lawyers, attended the hearing. He suggested that the best solution would be to assign disciplinary cases of judges to the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court. He noted that real progress hinges on the proper formation of the National Council of the Judiciary, which currently features 15 judges chosen with political involvement, a point he believes must be resolved to fix the judiciary’s fundamental problems.
Vote Friday morning
The bill is set for a vote Friday morning at the Supreme Court.
Last December 13, PiS deputies submitted a draft amendment to the Sejm that supporters call an important milestone for the European Commission to unblock funds from the KPO. The draft would assign disciplinary and immunity cases of judges to the Supreme Administrative Court, not to the recently established Chamber of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court. It also broadens the test of independence and impartiality for judges, which can be initiated not only by the litigant but also by the court itself. The draft additionally adds exams during the test, starting from the appointment of a judge under the law.
The project’s premises were discussed during EU Minister Szymon Szynkowski’s talks in Brussels. The Sejm was to consider the bill in December of the previous year, but it was taken off the agenda. Earlier, President Andrzej Duda stated that he had not participated in preparing the project nor had he been consulted. He called for calm and constructive parliamentary work on the bill and stressed that he would not agree to solutions that undermine the constitutional system or allow acts that would undermine judicial appointments or their verification.
The coalition partner of PiS, Solidarna Polska, voiced negative positions on the project. Opposition clubs left open the possibility of supporting the bill, even if their amendments are not adopted, according to statements from PO leader Donald Tusk.
mly/PAP
Source: wPolityce