Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has asked the country’s Constitutional Tribunal to review the law amending the controversial judicial reform in a move that would halt the implementation of these changes until the court rules on their validity under the Magna Carta.
The European Commission had frozen funds for Poland after concluding that some of the legislation could violate the rule of law. In particular, the Commission was particularly concerned about the establishment in 2018 of a disciplinary chamber in the Supreme Court. The chamber can dismiss any judge or prosecutor.
These amendments would, in principle, facilitate the release of funds but right now the process would, in theory, be blocked pending the decision of the Polish court. Duda, however, has explained that the arrival of the funds is an operation that will take some time and that the Constitutional Court could rule in the meantime.
In the corresponding communiqué, published on the Presidency’s website, Duda acknowledged the enormous relief that the European funds would represent, which is why he did not initially veto the amendments, recently adopted by the Parliament.
“However, as President of the Republic of Poland, I am the guardian of the Constitution and I take care of the legal security of our citizens. That is why I have decided to submit the Act to the Constitutional Tribunal for preventive control,” he said.
“This means that the Law will not be binding until the Tribunal rules on its conformity with the Constitution,” the statement adds.
Duda has assured, that “in practice”, the Constitutional review “will not delay the release of funds in the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for Poland” agreed with Brussels.
“For that to happen, further steps and decisions, including subsequent legal acts, as envisaged in the agreement concluded between the Government and the European Commission, are inevitable. And that will take time anyway,” he has concluded.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)