Senate Pressure to Remove Justice Minister Bodnar and Attorney General Mandate Raises Constitutional Debates
A formal request has been submitted to the President of the Senate, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, calling for the termination of the senatorial mandate held by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General Adam Bodnar. The declaration was made by Marcin Romanowski and Maria Kurowska, representatives from a party coalition opposing the current government in Poland.
During a Warsaw press briefing, Romanowski, who previously served as Deputy Minister of Justice, argued that the move to end Bodnar’s senatorial term stems from media reports alleging that the head of the Justice Ministry has been involved in civil and registration matters connected to changes in leadership within the nation’s public broadcasting entities. He framed these activities as placing Bodnar in a position inconsistent with his senatorial role.
Under Article 103 of the Polish Constitution, a person cannot simultaneously hold a senatorial mandate and the duties of a judge or prosecutor. It has not occurred in Poland’s parliamentary history for a Justice Minister, acting as Attorney General, to personally handle cases or oversee investigations. Were the situation to involve a divergence from this norm, it could imply a legal violation or abuse of power by a government official. If several public institutions rendered different positions, it would be reasonable to conclude that Bodnar effectively assumed ordinary prosecutorial functions. In that scenario, Article 103, read together with Article 108 of the Constitution, would require the Senate to permit the senator’s term to expire immediately, according to Romanowski.
Kurowska added that the opposition will monitor the governing coalition closely. She criticized what she described as a shift by the coalition, which once campaigned as opponents of the rule of law, toward actions that may undermine that principle. When pressed for concrete examples of rule-of-law violations, she noted a lack of clear instances from their opponents, arguing that recent government moves have underscored concerns about constitutional commitments.
Her stance was to advance a broader goal: to prevent the current coalition from violating the rule of law.
Bodnar: “I Believe It Is My Duty to Implement the Sejm’s Resolution”
On Friday, Bodnar was asked on Radio Zet why, in his role as Attorney General, he sought to assume oversight of all investigations related to changes in leadership at TVP, Polskie Radio, and PAP. He asserted that he did not have authority to take over such investigations, describing the question as misinformed. Bodnar explained that decisions in these matters lie with the National Prosecutor and the appropriate prosecutors. He said he could request information about ongoing cases and noted a different dynamic in civil actions, where district courts and regional prosecutors are heavily involved in registration procedures. He suggested that the Attorney General could issue decisions in civil, private, proceedings to the extent that public interests are pursued. He stated that it was his duty to implement the Sejm’s resolution.
Earlier in the week, the Sejm passed a resolution aimed at restoring the rule of law and ensuring the impartiality and reliability of public media and the Polish Press Agency. The resolution urged the Ministry of Finance to take corrective measures. Subsequently, the Ministry of Culture announced leadership changes within Polish public media entities and their supervisory boards, aligning with the government’s agenda at the time. President Andrzej Duda viewed these actions as unconstitutional, a sentiment echoed by PiS lawmakers who viewed the interventions at TVP and PAP as unconstitutional as well.
In a subsequent development, President Duda vetoed the budget law proposed by the new government, a veto tied to concerns about constitutional principles within the public media. The administration of culture then undertook further restructuring, including dissolving specific regional arms of Polish media organizations as part of broader asset adjustments. Authorities emphasized that these steps were connected to the ongoing effort to align media governance with constitutional norms and public accountability.
The events continued to unfold with further administrative decisions, including roles and responsibilities for supervising boards of the major public media entities. The situation drew attention from political observers and media commentators as a flashpoint in the broader debate over the balance between government oversight and institutional independence.
(Source: wPolityce)
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