Planned changes to the Constitutional Tribunal (TK), Poland’s top court, won’t happen this year due to the opposition of President Andrzej Duda, Justice Minister Adam Bodnar said on Tuesday during an interview with Polish public news channel TVP Info.
According to the Polish government, the TK became politicized under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government owing to some of its judges being political appointees.
It has, therefore, made an overhaul of the TK a priority, but, according to Bodnar, this may take some time.
It has, therefore, made an overhaul of the TK a priority, but, according to Bodnar, this may take some time.
“Most of the changes won’t take place this year. It might be a year of settlements,” he noted, adding that “without legislative changes, some things can’t be finalized.”
A dead end
Over the past few months, numerous bills put forward by the parliament have run into the legislative dead end, the approval of the president.
President Andrzej Duda, a former member of PiS, the main opposition party, has refused to sign into law legislation he does not agree with.
Bodnar expressed his hope that changes to the justice system will speed up after the presidential election in 2025.
Opposing views
At the beginning of March, the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, adopted a resolution aiming to repair what it considers to be the harm done to the judicial system by the previous government; however, resolutions are not legally binding.
The resolution was vociferously attacked by PiS MPs, who called it “an attack on the Constitution, an attack on the system of the Polish state,” as PiS MP Krzysztof Szczucki put it.
“The parliamentary caucus of the PiS party firmly opposes the adoption of this bill,” he stressed.
A dead end
Over the past few months, numerous bills put forward by the parliament have run into the legislative dead end, the approval of the president.
President Andrzej Duda, a former member of PiS, the main opposition party, has refused to sign into law legislation he does not agree with.
Bodnar expressed his hope that changes to the justice system will speed up after the presidential election in 2025.
Opposing views
At the beginning of March, the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, adopted a resolution aiming to repair what it considers to be the harm done to the judicial system by the previous government; however, resolutions are not legally binding.
The resolution was vociferously attacked by PiS MPs, who called it “an attack on the Constitution, an attack on the system of the Polish state,” as PiS MP Krzysztof Szczucki put it.
“The parliamentary caucus of the PiS party firmly opposes the adoption of this bill,” he stressed.
Source: PAP, TVP World
More In Politics MORE...
