Lawmakers fail to block Polish president’s veto of criminal law reform
The Sejm, the lower house of parliament, on Friday failed to muster enough votes to override President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the government's long-awaited amendment of the criminal law.
Of the 440 MPs taking part in the vote, 244 supported the rejection of Nawrocki's veto, 180 were against and 16 abstained.
The ruling centrist coalition thus fell 20 votes short of the three-fifths majority required to overturn the president's decision and enact the criminal law reform.
The vetoed comprehensive reform of criminal procedure envisaged a ban on the use of so-called illegal evidence and limited pre-trial detention, among other measures.
"The decision was taken out of concern for the safety of citizens and the effectiveness of the state in the fight against the most serious crimes," Nawrocki's spokesman said after the president decided to scrap the bill, which had been in preparation for two years and was expected to be the most significant overhaul of the criminal code since the 1990s.
Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said on Friday that the amendment vetoed by the president had been intended to curb the abuse of pre-trial detention, streamline legislation and "strengthen citizens' rights in their dealings with the state."
Poland has faced criticism from numerous international institutions and NGOs, including the European Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee, over what they describe as the excessive and systemic use of pre-trial detention. (PAP)
jd/jch
