– We respect the opinion of the Venice Commission, we will take it into account – assured Krystian Markiewicz, chairman of the Codification Commission of the Judiciary and Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for preparing new regulations regarding neo-judges, in “Fakty po Faktach” on TVN24. Referring to accusations that this opinion is a “shot” at the current ruling team, he said that “you have to read it first and then you can comment.”
The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe on constitutional law, stated in an opinion published on Monday evening that all judges appointed in Poland after 2018, i.e. with the participation of the defectively formed National Council of the Judiciary, i.e. the neo-KRS, cannot be automatically removed.
According to the Venice Commission, automatic withdrawal of all these people to their previously held positions would not be in line with European standards and that's why what is needed is a form of individual verification of judges and ensuring that they have the right to appeal to the court in the event of a negative evaluation.
The opinion noted that the procedure for considering the status of neo-judges should not take excessively long. The Commission considered it advisable to “group” these cases.
“You have to read it first and then you can comment”
Krystian Markiewicz, Ph.D., spoke about the opinion of the Venice Commission in “Fakty po Faktach” on TVN24, president of the Association of Polish Judges “Iustitia” and at the same time chairman of the Codification Commission of the Judiciary and Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for preparing new regulations regarding neo-judges.
He said that the opinion of the Venice Commission “is of course very important” and is “an important stage in finding the best solution” regarding the regulation of the status of neo-judges.
He referred to the statement of PiS MP Zbigniew Bogucki, who stated that “Bodnar and company have received such a shot that it will be difficult for them to recover.” When asked whether he thought this opinion was a “shot” at the government, he replied: – Of course it is not (a shot – editor). You have to read it first and then maybe comment, he said.
– This opinion clearly shows that the European Union, or Europe, has not developed any rules for overcoming crises such as the one we currently have in Poland. There are certain standards. These standards have been indicated, Markiewicz continued.
– The Venice Commission points out that we actually have a systemic problem with appointments. All these appointments with the participation of the neo-National Council of the Judiciary are defective. The Venice Commission also recognizes that we cannot adopt a formula that will be time-consuming, because the problem must be solved as soon as possible. Otherwise, the judicial system of the Republic of Poland will simply fall apart, he continued.
Markiewicz: we are considering the opinion of the Venice Commission
Markiewicz also referred to the Venice Commission's indication that neo-judges who would be subject to verification must have the right to appeal to the court in the event of a negative evaluation.
– Of course, we are considering the opinion of the Venice Commission, we will take it into account and we will do everything to adopt some formula regarding the admissibility of appealing the decision to court. But this does not mean that we will have a procedure where each of these people will have a separate way of individual verification, he said.
– Because we could meet in forty years and talk about the fact that these trials are still ongoing, and people who come to court still do not know whether their ruling will not be overturned at the end only because the verification process is not over – added the TVN24 guest.
Polish representatives in the Venice Commission. Markiewicz: I have a problem with this
Markiewicz also referred to the fact that Poland in the Venice Commission is represented by neo-judge Joanna Lemańska, head of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court, established during the PiS government, and Justyn Piskorski, the so-called double judge sitting in the Constitutional Tribunal.
The president of “Iustitia” admitted that he “sees a problem” in this. – I know they didn't prepare this particular opinion, but it's little consolation. Therefore, we have no doubt that the opinion of the Venice Commission is important. Looking at the authors of this opinion, we approach it with full respect. But that's an opinion. Just an opinion, he said.
– We will take into account all the arguments that have been put forward, but we will also take into account the constitutional standard and what the national courts, the Polish Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, and what the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has not heard at all since December last year, said. accepts preliminary questions from the Chamber for the Control of Extraordinary Public Affairs. This chamber, where the president is the above-mentioned professor Lemańska – said the guest of “Fakty po Faktach”.
Polish representatives in the Venice Commission. Markiewicz: I have a problem with thisTVN24
Division into three groups. Project on neo-judges
Basic assumptions of solutions intended to regulate the status of neo-judges Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar presented at the beginning of September.
According to information from the Ministry of Justice, according to the preliminary draft of regulations on the status of neo-judges, they are divided into three groups.
The first of them are judges who graduated from the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution. The ministry states that these are approximately 1,600 people who are considered to be appointed in accordance with the constitution, and their status will not be questioned. The second group are judges who – as reported by the Ministry of Justice – participated “in the construction of a non-democratic legal order” (so-called common design). “About 500 people. They will be responsible to a new disciplinary body – the Disciplinary Council,” the ministry said.
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The third group are judges who “have advanced in the structure of the judiciary without actively participating in common design activities.” “About 900 people. They accepted promotions, but were not directly involved in political activities. They will be able to avoid disciplinary liability if they voluntarily return to their previous positions,” it was reported.
The Venice Commission is the short name of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, which consists of experts in the field of law, primarily constitutional and international law.
Main photo source: TVN24