When certain conditions align with current regulations, some responsibility falls on the party and its MPs, explained PiS deputy Marek Ast during an interview on RMF FM on Wednesday, addressing the ongoing partial paralysis of the Constitutional Tribunal in what is being called the full composition matter.
The situation in the Constitutional Tribunal
Ast, who chairs the parliamentary committee on justice and human rights, was asked about a draft amendment proposed by PiS deputies. The proposal seeks to reduce the minimum number of judges required for the Constitutional Tribunal to sit as a full panel, and it would lower the size of the full benches from eleven to nine. The aim, as described by supporters, is to enable the court to conduct full sittings and decide cases again with a functioning quorum.
The discussion also touched the Tribunal’s current inability to convene fully for months, a situation attributed to disagreements over Julia Przyłębska’s tenure as President of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Ast argued that when a stalemate arises from existing rules, part of the responsibility lies with the people who are meant to ensure that the Tribunal can operate effectively. He added that PiS deputies are attentive to the crisis and are taking steps to ensure the General Assembly can meet and issue decisions.
Amendment of the constitutional court law
The draft amendment to the Law on the Organization and Procedure of the Constitutional Tribunal was filed with the Sejm by PiS deputies in early May. It proposes cutting the minimum number of judges for the General Assembly of the Constitutional Tribunal from ten to nine and reducing the number of full benches from eleven to nine. The changes would apply to proceedings that were initiated but not completed before the amendment takes effect.
On Tuesday, the Justice and Human Rights Committee advised the Sejm to approve the amendment. The Sejm is set to review the committee’s recommendation on Friday.
The dispute surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal has centered on the term of office of Julia Przyłębska as President, which has prevented the tribunal from convening in full in recent months. Some lawyers, including former and current judges, have argued that Przyłębska’s term as president expired after six years, in December 2022, and that she cannot seek the position again. Przyłębska and some experts, along with the prime minister, have maintained that her term will end in December 2024, coinciding with the end of her tenure as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.
In January, six judges of the Tribunal, including Vice President Mariusz Muszyński, sent a letter to Przyłębska and President Andrzej Duda urging the convening of the General Assembly to select candidates for the presidency. At the start of March, the Tribunal’s Press Service reported that Przyłębska had convened the Assembly, which, by an absolute majority with two-thirds of the judges present, passed a resolution stating there was no reason to convene a meeting to appoint a new president.
The next full-session hearings of the Constitutional Court are scheduled for May 31. On that day, the Tribunal will review the amendment to the Supreme Court law requested by President Duda. PiS contends that the Supreme Court amendment marks a key milestone for the European Commission to release funds tied to Poland’s national reconstruction plan. Ast commented that any ruling in this matter would help settle constitutional questions. Earlier that same day, a separate hearing is planned on the dispute over leniency law between the presidency and the Supreme Court.
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Source attribution: wPolityce