The Senate is accused of grabbing authority that does not come from the Constitution or the laws. This view was voiced by government spokesman Piotr Müller when commenting on the Senate’s decision to form a committee to study Russian influence. He argued that the Senate Judiciary Committee lacks legal footing to probe any issues.
On Thursday, the Senate approved a resolution to create an extraordinary commission aimed at examining Russian influence on the decisions of Poland’s public authorities. The committee consists of seven senators aligned with the majority in the Senate, while the ruling party PiS has not submitted its nominees. The Senate Special Committee is described as having no investigative powers and will operate only until the current Senate term ends.
According to the resolution, starting in 2005 the Extraordinary Commission will investigate how Russian influence has affected the legislative process and its administration in Poland. Its duties also include identifying potential threats from Russian security services and proposing countermeasures, including legislative solutions.
The government spokesman viewed the appointment of the Senate committee as a peculiar development. He noted that the opposition argued a parliamentary committee with legal powers was unnecessary for examining Russian influence.
Now the Senate is forming its own committee. What is the purpose of this commission? Some observers see it as a move to create the appearance of a parallel body that scrutinizes issues related to Russian influence.
He pointed out that in Poland’s constitutional order the Senate does not have a control function. He warned that the Senate is grabbing powers that do not stem from the constitution or statutes, and questioned what the new committee is meant to accomplish given the absence of a clear legal basis for investigating these issues.
He added that a committee like the Senate could just as easily be created by any city council, if the goal is to theatrically portray oversight. He emphasized that the committee established by law in the Sejm does possess specific powers: it can convene meetings and adopt administrative steps designed to gather material for a formal report, according to Müller.
Reflecting on the Opposition’s absence from the Legislative Committee, he remarked that with representatives on a truly empowered body, the procedural and material collection would be more effective.
Appointment of members of the Committee on Russian Influence
On August 30, at the final meeting of this term, the Sejm appointed nine members to the Committee on Russian Influence within the Internal Security framework of the Republic of Poland for the years 2007-2022. All nominees were proposed by PiS; the opposition did not submit candidates and did not participate in the vote.
May 31, 2007 marked the start of the process when, at PiS’s initiative, the law establishing a commission to investigate Russian influence on Poland’s internal security for 2007-2022 came into force. The president signed the law a few days earlier and announced he would bring it before the Constitutional Court. On June 2, Andrzej Duda submitted a draft amendment to this law to the Sejm. It passed on June 16, and on June 28, the delegates rejected the Senate’s objection to the amendment. The president signed the amendment on July 31, and it took effect in August.
tkwl/PAP
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Source: wPolityce