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Polish constitutional court strikes down new rules on court Polish constitutional court strikes down new rules on court
(about 2 hours later)
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled Wednesday that many new rules regulating its own function introduced by the new government are unconstitutional. WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled Wednesday that new rules introduced by the new government to regulate how the court functions are unconstitutional.
The country’s top legislative court weighed in on a legal crisis that has upended politics in Poland and brought sharp condemnation from European and U.S. authorities. The ruling deepens a legal crisis that has upended politics in Poland and brought sharp condemnation from European and U.S. authorities.
However, it’s not clear what effect the ruling will have because the government of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has indicated that it will not treat the court’s judgment as valid. While it bolsters the moral position of government critics alarmed at what they see as an attack on democracy, the judgment is nonetheless powerless to resolve the crisis because the conservative government of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo says it won’t treat it as valid.
The court ruled that many of the laws passed late last year that fundamentally change how the 15-judge court functions breach Poland’s constitution. Szydlo’s government says it will also dismiss a separate judgment expected Friday by the Venice Commission, an expert body with the Council of Europe human rights group, which has analyzed the changes to the court.
One is a rule that the court should take up cases in the order in which they are brought to the court. Another requires a two-thirds majority to support a ruling for it to be valid, a change from the simple majority of the past. Another contested change requires a quorum of 13 judges for rulings to be valid. In a leaked draft of the report, the commission said changes to the court threaten the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Poland. Ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski insists that Poland is a sovereign nation that will decide its own affairs.
Critics say the changes have paralyzed the court, effectively preventing it from acting as a check on the power of the ruling, conservative Law and Justice party, which has greater control over the country than any party in Poland’s 27 years of democracy. “I am afraid Poland is really stuck. There seems to be no way out now,” said Hanna Szulczewska, a member of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, an organization formed late last year in reaction to the moves against the court.
Both the European Union and the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, have expressed deep concerns about the state of Poland’s rule of law due to the changes to the constitutional tribunal, as well as several other measures including greater government control over state broadcast media. Law and Justice swept to power last year, becoming more dominant than any other party in the 27 years of Poland’s post-communist history. It now controls the presidency, both houses of parliament and the government, and has used its powers to quickly take control of a vast range of institutions. Since the government took office last year it has increased its control over state broadcast media, boosted police powers of surveillance and eliminated the office of the general prosecutor, putting those powers under the Ministry of Justice.
The Venice Commission, an expert body within the Council of Europe, is expected to publish an assessment of the constitutional crisis on Friday. A leaked draft of the report said the constitutional changes threaten the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Poland. In its ruling Wednesday, judges ruled that many of the laws passed late last year which fundamentally change how the 15-judge court functions breach Poland’s constitution.
Ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski says the country will not abide by the commission’s ruling, which isn’t binding, insisting that Poland is a sovereign nation that will decide its own affairs. One of the new laws stipulate that the court should take up cases in the chronological order in which they are brought to the court. Another requires a two-thirds majority to support a ruling for it to be valid, a change from a simple majority previously. Another contested change requires a quorum of 13 judges for rulings to be valid.
Critics say the changes have paralyzed the court, depriving it of the power to prioritize cases and preventing it from acting as a check on any new laws that Law and Justice passes.
The European Union is deeply concerned and has opened an investigation. The United States is also concerned. Last month three U.S. Senators, among them John McCain, wrote to Szydlo saying they fear changes to the court and the public media “could serve to diminish democratic norms, including the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.”
She and other leaders replied to the senators that they were misinformed about the country and do not have the right to lecture Warsaw about its internal affairs.
The country’s conservative new leaders argue that changes are needed to break the stranglehold over the country’s institutions by the more liberal opposition party, Civic Platform, which held power for eight years until last year. They insist they have a strong electoral mandate to make deep changes to the country, moving it in a conservative and patriotic direction.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.