Poland’s Constitutional Court on struck down yet another set of government reforms on its operation, deepening a constitutional crisis and hurtling Warsaw toward a collision with the European Union. / AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI
WARSAW, Poland (AFP) – by Mary SIBIERSKI
Poland’s Constitutional Court struck down more government reforms Thursday aimed at clipping its wings in a deepening constitutional crisis that has set Warsaw on a collision course with the EU.
Chief Justice Andrzej Rzeplinski said the court found many sections of the July 22 law, adopted by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government, “non-compliant with the Polish Constitution”.
Pro-democracy protesters gathered outside the court building in central Warsaw to support its judges in their ruling but their numbers were much fewer than previous rallies.
On the eve of the judgement, powerful PiS party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said the government would not recognise it, accusing the court of acting unconstitutionally and playing politics.
Kaczynski has in the past accused the body of wanting to block PiS legislation and so siding with the liberal Civic Platform opposition, the government’s arch-rivals.
He dismissed the new ruling as merely “private in character” and without legality, signalling the top court’s further paralysis.
In recent months, the PiS’s changes to the court have triggered mass street protests by tens of thousands of Poles worried about democracy and the rule of law in the ex-communist EU and NATO state.
Fresh legislation in pipeline
Kaczynski said a special PiS-dominated parliamentary committee would soon table fresh draft legislation on the court, without providing details.
The PiS government previously refused to promulgate a series of judgements by the Constitutional Court, including one from March 9 that would strike down other legislative changes to the body.
Insisting the PiS moves undermine the rule of law and democracy, the European Commission has given Warsaw until the end of October to reverse the changes or face sanctions.
The Commission’s July move is the second step in an unprecedented procedure which could eventually see Warsaw’s voting rights suspended in the Council of Ministers, the EU’s highest decision-making body.
Among the demands by the commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation EU, are for the Constitutional Court rulings to be published and implemented.
Kaczynski has lashed out at the EU disciplinary process, accusing the European Commission of acting illegally.
After scoring a strong majority in elections late last year, the populist-oriented PiS immediately pushed through legislation which critics say paralysed the Constitutional Court.
It has also ramped up state control over public broadcasters, further straining relations with the EU which demands that all member states meet the same rule of law and democratic norms.
The United States has voiced concern over the changes, with President Barack Obama taking up the issue with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda during a June visit to Warsaw.