While supporters of the government’s judicial reforms gathered outside of the Constitutional court in Warsaw, two political forces with opposite views on the reforms held their meetings on Saturday. The leader of Solidarity Poland, Zbigniew Ziobro, is the Justice Minister and argues that Poland’s judiciary requires significant changes. The newly elected leader of the main opposition Civic Platform, Borys Budka, is highly critical of the ruling party’s reforms.
Under the new rules signed into force by President Andrzej Duda, judges may face penalties for criticising government changes to the judiciary and challenging the appointment of those of their peers who took up their posts after the present government came to power.
Critics argue that the changes introduced by Poland’s ruling party could undermine judicial independence and allow the government to silence dissenters. But Poland’s governing, conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), which came to power in late 2015 and won a second term last October, has insisted that sweeping changes are required to reform an inefficient and sometimes corrupt judicial system tainted by the communist past.
Rzeczpospolita daily reported on Saturday that the Court of Justice of the European Union could slap a massive fine of EUR 2 million a day on Poland if it does not freeze the Disciplinary Chamber of the country’s Supreme Court. Last time the ECJ ruled against the government on the issue of changing the composition of the Supreme Court via earlier retirement for judges the government backed down and changed the legislation.
Full steam ahead
The Solidarity Poland rally addressed by Justice Minister and leader of that party, Zbigniew Ziobro, in Warsaw, backed the government’s stance over disciplinary measures for judges to the hilt. The reformers announced an additional new wave of reforms.
Mr Ziobro accused the judges protesting against the reform of acting in self-interest and of attempting to take millions of Poles hostage. He was referring to the decision taken by Supreme court judges to ordain that the Disciplinary Chamber is not a court as understood by European law. The Justice Minister saw that stance as being in defiance of the Polish constitution and law and accused the protesting judges of attempting to create chaos and anarchy in the courts.
The Solidarity Poland leader said that he could not accept that those nominated in communist times had the right to question decisions of a democratic state. He also said that he could not accept that the principle of the independence of the judiciary excluded any accountability for the way judges exercised their powers.
His deputies in the ministry earlier in the day listed the achievements of the reforms such as blocking the removal of parental rights on economic grounds, the pedophile register, stiffening the sentencing regime for fiscal crimes such as VAT fraud. But they also announced the next wave of reforms which is to include the election of Justices of the Peace to reduce the workload on the common courts, streamlining of the courts system to two tiers and full digitalisation of court records.
Civic Platform’s new leadership takes charge
The new leader of the Civic Platform (PO) made his party’s opposition to the measures clear at the National Council meeting of the party. But he spent most of his address to the faithful on attempting to breathe new life into the party ahead of the Presidential election.
He announced the appointment of two new deputy leaders of the party: the Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski and MEP Bartosz Arłukowicz. He also announced the creation of a new advisory political council that is to be chaired by the former leader Grzegorz Schetyna.
The party has faced a difficult few months following the election defeat in October last year and an unconvincing start made by Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska to her presidential campaign. This is why Mr Budka spent Saturday trying to unite the party and give it heart for the battle ahead.
Source: Poland In
