The Sejm resolutions are viewed by some as a tool to clarify the legal facts surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal, with accusations that three judges appointed earlier should not be sworn in by the president. Anna Maria Żukowska, head of the Left Club, spoke on this interpretation, while Senate President Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska expressed cautious optimism. She noted that resolutions on the Constitutional Tribunal could be adopted by the Sejm this week and that such steps would represent a move toward restoring the rule of law in Poland. It should be noted that the Constitution does not allow for the early dismissal of judges serving on the Constitutional Court, and the Court’s procedures and the selection of judges are defined by law rather than by resolutions.
Reports indicate that Donald Tusk’s government and the governing majority may pursue changes to the Constitutional Court through parliamentary resolutions aimed at removing judges who were legally appointed by the president. Żukowska, interviewed on Polish radio, reiterated that the Sejm resolutions would confirm the position that three elected judges should not have been sworn in by the president because they were awaiting placement in line for selection.
Żukowska suggested that a resolution could include this stance even though no formal draft or schedule has been released yet.
Asked about potential escalation of tensions between the government and the president if the Sejm resolutions move forward, Żukowska said the objective is to restore the rule of law in Poland.
There is reference to Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union regarding possible sanctions related to violations of the rule of law. Relations with the president have been strained for years, a situation Żukowska regrets, but she argued that the president makes certain sovereign decisions that influence the country.
– said the New Left MP.
Kidawa-Błońska on Sejm resolutions on the Constitutional Court
In an interview with Radio ZET, the President of the Senate discussed plans for the Sejm to adopt resolutions affecting the Constitutional Court. She was asked whether the government would stage a coup during President Andrzej Duda’s visit to Africa by dismissing five judges of the Constitutional Tribunal by a resolution. Kidawa-Błońska replied that such action would not constitute a coup d’état and would simply be another step toward restoring the rule of law in Poland.
We do not commit coups
– she stated.
If President Duda had followed the Polish Constitution over the past eight years, the current situation might have looked different. Everything must be put in order, because the rule of law is foundational. Poles should know that the Constitutional Court operates in accordance with the Constitution and Polish law, she added.
Will the December coalition itself respect the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, as referred to by the Senate Marshal? Under the Constitution, changes to the Constitutional Tribunal system cannot be made by resolution, nor can the terms of the Tribunal’s judges be shortened. So why is the government planning to adopt a resolution on this issue?
Will the Sejm majority dismiss the Constitutional Court judges?
The Senate Marshal also noted Poland’s obligation to comply with EU law.
Our judicial decisions must be clear and stable, especially given the existence of a so‑called double judge situation, she assessed.
When asked whether a decision on the Constitutional Court judges would be made this week, Kidawa-Błońska replied that announcements have been made, but the resolution has not yet been submitted to the Sejm. She added that the discussion will reveal how the process will unfold and that the system must keep functioning without delay.
Gazeta Wyborcza reported that the ruling coalition would focus on issues related to the Constitutional Court during the next Sejm session. The paper suggested that the Sejm might, through resolutions, address the flawed selections and identify judges such as Mariusz Muszyński, Jarosław Wyrembak, and Justyn Piskorski.
Historically, on October 8, 2015, the seventh-term Sejm elected five new judges, and on November 25 that year the Sejm of the new eighth term adopted resolutions declared by PiS that the previous election of Constitutional Court judges had no legal force. On December 2, the Sejm elected Julia Przyłębska, Piotr Pszczółkowski, Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, and Mariusz Muszyński as judges, with the last three inheriting terms from judges whose terms expired in November. Those judges were sworn in by President Duda. The Constitutional Court later ruled that the earlier Sejm had acted contrary to the Constitution in the election of two judges and that the president was obliged to administer the oath to any newly elected judge immediately.
Following the mid‑November 2023 elections, then head of the KO Club, Borys Budka, suggested that the election of three Constitutional Court judges should be declared invalid. Mentioned in this context were judges Mariusz Muszyński, Justyn Piskorski, and Jarosław Wyrembak, who later replaced judges who had died or whose terms expired.
There have been statements about the December 13 coalition’s approach to the Constitutional Tribunal, with concerns that its independence could be compromised by political moves. The conversations continue as the country weighs how to maintain the balance between national institutions and European Union expectations.
Source: wPolityce