Sejm Marshal Czarzasty forwards President Nawrocki’s judicial reform bill to Venice Commission, claiming it violates constitutional principles.
Bill Sent to Venice Commission
On Friday, February 20, Włodzimierz Czarzasty announced that President Karol Nawrocki had sent to the Sejm a bill on restoring the right to a court and addressing undue delays. “In the opinion of our lawyers, this bill violates judicial independence and the separation of powers and provides for prison sentences of up to 10 years for judges who refuse to participate in judicial panels,” said the Marshal of the Sejm.
Czarzasty decided on broad consultations for this bill and sent it to the Venice Commission for an opinion. “This is another bill written carelessly, in a way that requires significant improvement. I would advise putting more effort into these bills, because you are slowly becoming a destroyer of Polish law,” Czarzasty noted.
Czarzasty’s Standoff with Nawrocki
The Sejm Marshal emphasized that he is still waiting for the President to complete the energy prices bill. “I contacted you a second time asking to complete the incomplete, poorly written bill. This request went to you on January 9. Until you complete this, please don’t mislead the public by saying that I am freezing the energy prices bill,” Czarzasty stated. “I’m waiting for you, Mr. President destroyer, to fix this bill. Until you do so, we will not work on a bill that has legal flaws.”
President’s Veto of KRS Bill
Karol Nawrocki on Thursday vetoed the government-proposed changes to the KRS and simultaneously announced that he was sending his own project to the Sejm regarding the judiciary. As the President explained, the bill proposed by the government introduces segregation of judges and hands over the judiciary to a political interest group.
Justice Minister’s Criticism
Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek criticized the President’s decision, saying “citizens are becoming hostages to the President’s politics. This does not create stability, but prolongs the crisis. These solutions were good. We went far in the compromise with regard to Adam Bodnar’s project.” The prosecutor general added that the veto was based on non-meritorious grounds and that the President did not take into account the case law of European courts.
