The 2020 ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) penalizing abortion might not be legally valid, a Polish deputy justice minister has said.
Poland's newly formed coalition government wants to reverse changes introduced by a 2020 verdict by the TK, influenced by judges appointed by the then ruling socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which led to a near-total ban on terminations.
The government has called the judges appointed under PiS “pseudo judges.”
On Wednesday, the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, adopted a resolution aimed at “repairing” the TK following a series of changes made to it by PiS, which the government has said has triggered a constitutional crisis.
The government has called the judges appointed under PiS “pseudo judges.”
On Wednesday, the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, adopted a resolution aimed at “repairing” the TK following a series of changes made to it by PiS, which the government has said has triggered a constitutional crisis.
The resolution states that “taking into account by a public authority the decisions of the Constitutional Tribunal issued in violation of the law may be considered a violation of the principle of legalism by such authorities.”
Dariusz Mazur was asked by Polsat News, a private broadcaster, on Thursday whether the 2020 abortion ruling still applies, given the contents of the resolution.
He said that the “rulings that are flawed, for example, because of the composition of the Court, the participation of pseudo-judges, are to lose their legal force.”
However, according to Mazur, a resolution was only a declaration of the projected legal changes, and the question of terminations “should be regulated by a [separate] law.” The ruling coalition government seems divided on just how to liberalize the abortion law. While the centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and the Left want to make abortion legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy, the center-right Third Way seeks a return to a decades-long abortion compromise that was abolished by the constitutional court's 2020 ruling.
Szymon Hołownia, the Sejm speaker and one of Third Way’s leaders, said on Wednesday that the parliament will deal with the abortion law on April 11, right after local elections, sparking outrage among the leftists, who wanted the issue to be discussed as soon as possible.
Abortion is currently permitted in Poland only if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or if it threatens the health or life of the mother.
Dariusz Mazur was asked by Polsat News, a private broadcaster, on Thursday whether the 2020 abortion ruling still applies, given the contents of the resolution.
He said that the “rulings that are flawed, for example, because of the composition of the Court, the participation of pseudo-judges, are to lose their legal force.”
However, according to Mazur, a resolution was only a declaration of the projected legal changes, and the question of terminations “should be regulated by a [separate] law.” The ruling coalition government seems divided on just how to liberalize the abortion law. While the centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and the Left want to make abortion legal up to the 12th week of pregnancy, the center-right Third Way seeks a return to a decades-long abortion compromise that was abolished by the constitutional court's 2020 ruling.
Szymon Hołownia, the Sejm speaker and one of Third Way’s leaders, said on Wednesday that the parliament will deal with the abortion law on April 11, right after local elections, sparking outrage among the leftists, who wanted the issue to be discussed as soon as possible.
Abortion is currently permitted in Poland only if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or if it threatens the health or life of the mother.
Source:
More In Politics MORE...
