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Poland's president signs controversial law despite protests Poland's president signs controversial law despite protests
(about 7 hours later)
Poland’s president has signed into law one of three contested bills that organises the judiciary in a way that critics say limits their independence.Poland’s president has signed into law one of three contested bills that organises the judiciary in a way that critics say limits their independence.
President Andrzej Duda announced on Monday after days of protests that he would veto two of the bills. The move came after senior members of the ruling rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS) reacted furiously to Andrzej Duda’s decision to veto two out of three controversial bills that critics argue would have given the government control over the country’s judicial system, portraying him as bowing to the will of hostile foreign powers.
On Tuesday, his office said he had signed the third bill, despite demonstrations late on Monday in several cities urging him to also block that one. His declaration followed days of demonstrations across the country, in which hundreds of thousands of Poles took to the streets in the capital, Warsaw, as well as other towns and cities, and held vigils in front of courthouses.
Under banners emblazoned with slogans such as “Free courts” and “Freedom, equality, democracy”, demonstrators pleaded with Duda – himself a lawyer – to reject all three laws, claiming they marked a shift towards authoritarian rule.
The proposals had set Poland on a collision course with the European commission, which had threatened to stop Poland’s voting rights if it introduced them. Donald Tusk, the European council president and a former Polish prime minister, had warned of a “black scenario that could ultimately lead to the marginalisation of Poland in Europe”.
On Tuesday, Duda’s office said he had signed the third bill, despite demonstrations late on Monday in several cities urging him to also block that one.
The law allows the justice minister, who is also the prosecutor general, to name the heads of all lower courts.The law allows the justice minister, who is also the prosecutor general, to name the heads of all lower courts.
Critics say it is unconstitutional, but welcomed the president’s rejection of the other bills. One of them would have allowed the justice minister to immediately fire all supreme court justices and choose their replacements.Critics say it is unconstitutional, but welcomed the president’s rejection of the other bills. One of them would have allowed the justice minister to immediately fire all supreme court justices and choose their replacements.
Duda said the law on the supreme court gave excessive powers to the prosecutor general.Duda said the law on the supreme court gave excessive powers to the prosecutor general.
Commentators were shocked at the move, interpreting it as a major setback for the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), which has made a big issue out of controlling Poland’s independent institutions, particularly the judiciary, since it came into power in 2015, and hailing it as a victory for demonstrators. Commentators were shocked at the move, interpreting it as a major setback for the PiS, which has made a big issue out of controlling Poland’s independent institutions, particularly the judiciary, since it came into power in 2015, and hailing it as a victory for demonstrators.
Duda, in a televised address, said: “These laws must be amended.” He said his rejection of the proposed bills would be criticised “probably by both sides of the political scene”, but that they “would not strengthen the sense of justice in society”. “Some European powers did not accept the result of the elections, they don’t accept this government and its direction of change ... We are dealing with another attempt to overthrow the government,” Witold Waszczykowski, Poland’s foreign minister, said of Duda’s vetoes. “Perhaps it will end in terrorist actions against the Polish state.”
His declaration followed eight days of demonstrations across the country, in which hundreds of thousands of Poles have taken to the streets in the capital, Warsaw, as well as other towns and cities, and held vigils in front of courthouses. The defence minister, Antoni Macierewicz, said opposition to the party’s reforms was an example of “hybrid war” against the country, blaming “environmental, anti-Christian, anti-Catholic circles who challenge the existence of independent nation states”.
Under banners emblazoned with slogans such as “Free courts” and “Freedom, equality, democracy”, demonstrators pleaded with Duda – himself a lawyer – to reject the laws, claiming they marked a shift towards authoritarian rule. Signalling the ruling party’s displeasure, the prime minister, Beata Szydło – who managed Duda’s successful election campaign in 2015 – arranged a televised address on Monday evening at precisely the same time as Duda was also due to speak to the nation.
The proposals had also set Poland on a collision course with the European commission, which had threatened to stop Poland’s voting rights if it introduced them. Donald Tusk, the European council president and a former Polish prime minister, had warned of a “black scenario that could ultimately lead to the marginalisation of Poland in Europe”. State television, controlled by PiS since the passage of a controversial media law soon after it assumed office, chose to broadcast Szydło’s statement, in which she openly criticised the president’s decision. Duda’s statement was broadcast simultaneously on private media outlets.
Duda’s declaration marks the first time that he has publicly split with Jarosław Kaczyński, head of the Law and Justice party, since Duda won the presidency on the party’s ticket in 2015 and the party won parliamentary elections later that same year. “We all want to live in a fair Poland, this is why the reform of the courts is needed ... Today’s veto by the president has slowed down work on the reform,” Szydło said on Monday. “We cannot yield to pressure from the streets and abroad ... We have a stable majority. We won’t give in to pressure. We will realise our plan.”
Until this week, Duda had loyally accepted all of the party’s programme, even other steps denounced by the EU and human rights organisations as attacks on the democratic system of checks and balances. Ryszard Terlecki, the leader of PiS’s parliamentary faction, said “we are disturbed by the fact that the president did not insulate himself from the influence of protests”, while another PiS MP questioned whether Duda would be the party’s candidate for presidential elections in 2020.
The party says its programme is aimed at removing corrupt officials from state positions. The anger of senior party figures reflected a sense that the president had betrayed the PiS leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, to whom Duda, a relative unknown before his nomination as the party’s presidential candidate, is seen to owe his position.
Some commentators are sceptical whether Duda’s apparent assertion of his authority on the other two bills was authentic, or merely an attempt to take the edge off the protests. Until this week, Duda had demonstrated little inclination to distance himself from his former party and its leader. But some observers argue that Kaczyński has long taken Duda’s loyalty for granted, and it was only a matter of time before the president asserted his independence.
“Duda had to show he was a sovereign political entity, and he did so over the reform that means more to Kaczyński than anything else,” said Michał Szułdrzyński, a political columnist at Rzeczpospolita, a centre-right broadsheet.
Kaczyński did not comment publicly after the president’s announcement.
Many protesters remain suspicious of the president’s motives, arguing that by only vetoing two of the three contentious bills, he has not gone far enough.
“Kudos to the president for the two vetoes, but that last act is equally unconstitutional – there can be no compromise on the constitution,” said Roman Iwański, a lawyer engaged in pro bono work on behalf of demonstrators detained by the police
The bill on the ordinary courts signed into law by Duda on Tuesday gives the justice minister, who is also the prosecutor general, the power to appoint the presidents of all courts below the supreme court, and the chairpersons of court departments. Although in most instances judges will be assigned to cases at random, there are exceptions and other safeguards have been removed.
“These presidents and judges have a strong influence on the allocation of certain cases to specific judges, creating a strong risk of abuse of power and violation of judicial independence,” said Mikołaj Pietrzak, the chair of the Warsaw Bar Association. “This was a model which was in place in communist Poland and served to ensure that cases regarding members of the political opposition would be dealt with by politically subservient judges.”
Associated Press contributed to this reportAssociated Press contributed to this report