Sejm annuls election of five Constitutional Tribunal judges
The Sejm (lower house) on Wednesday night passed resolutions calling the election of five Constitutional Tribunal judges - elected by the Sejm of the former term of office - invalid.
According to the ruling Law and Justice (PiS), it was necessary to change the flawed decision taken by the previous parliament. In the opinion of the opposition, PiS has broken the Constitution as it wants to control the Constitutional Tribunal.
MPs of the Nowoczesna Party and Polish People's Party (PSL) voted against the PiS-authored resolutions, Kukiz'15 for and Civic Platform (PO) did not take part in the vote.
On November 19 the Sejm passed an amendment to the law on the Constitutional Tribunal opening the way for renewed election of five judges. PO and the Nowoczesna Party called for the rejection of the draft but the motion was outvoted. The Senate voted in favour of the amendment on November 20, and President Andrzej Duda signed it into law later that day.
On October 8 the Sejm of the former term of office elected five new tribunal judges against PiS's protests. They have not been sworn in by the president.
PO has asked the Constitutional Tribunal to check whether the recent PiS-authored amendment invalidating the election of five TK judges during the previous Sejm term of office was constitutional. Ombudsman Adam Bodnar challenged the same amendment.
The TK will consider PO's complaint against the PiS-authored amendment to the law on the TK on December 9. On December 3 the TK is to consider a motion submitted by PO and PSL MPs challenging a law on the TK passed in June. These proceedings challenge the June law's provisions on early appointments to replace two TK judges whose terms of office end in December.
President Andrzej Duda, on a visit to China, said the Sejm had legislative powers to pass decisions and stressed that in his opinion the Sejm of the former term of office violated the law appointing the five TK judges. (PAP)
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