The Constitutional Tribunal received a letter from five judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, in which they inform about their readiness to start work on President Andrzej Duda’s request to examine the constitutionality of the amendment to the court act, the Polish Press Agency has determined. In their letter, however, the judges indicate that all actions of Julia Przyłębska, which are attributed to the president of the Constitutional Tribunal, are ineffective and violate the applicable law. They also call for the convening of the General Assembly of the Constitutional Tribunal and the election of a new president. A letter with a similar appeal was also sent by six judges in January. However, at the beginning of March, the press service of the Tribunal reported that the General Assembly of the Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal had adopted a resolution stating that there were no grounds for convening an assembly to select candidates for the President of the Tribunal.
For months in Constitutional Tribunal there is an ongoing dispute over the term of office of Julia Przyłębska as president of the Constitutional Tribunal. According to some lawyers, including former and current judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, Przyłębska’s term of office expired after six years, i.e. on December 20, 2022, and at the same time she was not able to apply for this function again. According to Przyłębska herself, as well as the prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and some experts, her term of office expires in December 2024 – together with the end of Przyłębska’s term as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.
President of Law and Justice Jaroslaw Kaczynski estimated in March in an interview with PAP that “Julia Przyłębska he is the president of the Constitutional Court, and anyone who questions this is simply questioning the law in force.” He maintained that “there is no legal dispute” in this case.
Kaczyński for PAP: Przyłębska is the president of the Constitutional Tribunal. Anyone who questions this questions the law in forceTVN24, PAP
Five judges of the Constitutional Tribunal write to Przyłębska
According to the Polish Press Agency, on Thursday the Tribunal received a letter from five judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, in which they inform about their readiness to start work on the President’s request Andrzej Duda for examining the constitutionality of the amendment to the Act on the Supreme Court. However, the judges in their letter indicate that all actions of Przyłębska, which are attributed to the president of the Constitutional Tribunal, are ineffective and violate the applicable law.
Five judges also appealed for the convening of the General Assembly of the Constitutional Tribunal and the election of a new president. They also noted that “the Constitutional Tribunal is the guardian of constitutional values and principles and it is the constitution, not political interests, that sets the framework for its conduct and adjudication”.
Constitutional CourtShutterstock
Wyrembak: this magazine is part of a series of destructive activities
The judge of the Constitutional Tribunal, Jarosław Wyrembak, replied to this letter. His answer was provided to PAP by the press office of the Tribunal on Thursday.
According to Judge Wyrembak, the letter from five judges of the Constitutional Tribunal is an expression of complete ignoring of the effectively adopted – in his opinion – resolution on the election of a new president of the Constitutional Tribunal. “In my opinion, it is part of a series of destructive actions that seriously threaten the security of the Polish State and the Polish raison d’état,” wrote Judge Wyrembak.
According to Judge Wyrembak, the letter of five judges will be “used with great commitment by various circles – including journalists – interested in creating a vision of paralysis and destruction of the state and its key institutions, as well as: constantly undermining the legal legitimacy of their actions”.
“It is worth noting that a similar strategy is implemented by various persons and entities using various pretexts, dubious narratives and false slander not only against the Constitutional Tribunal – and the legally incumbent President of the Tribunal, but also against other institutions and bodies of the Polish State; perhaps as an instrument of fierce political fight ahead of the upcoming elections; perhaps also inspired by circles and countries that take actions hostile towards the Republic of Poland, judge Wyrembak assessed.
“The signatories of the letter do not seem to notice the indicated threats”
He added that “the signatories of the letter do not seem to notice the indicated threats – and methods and ways of playing and using similar letters by forces hostile to the Polish raison d’état; especially since the content of letters concerning the cases of the Tribunal appears with great regularity in some (usually the same) media, as coming from ‘anonymous informants’, even before other judges of the Constitutional Tribunal have the opportunity to read it”.
“In my opinion, it is legally impermissible for the signatories of the letter to clearly insinuate that some ‘political interests’ provide the Constitutional Tribunal with a ‘framework for proceeding and adjudicating’ (…) The letter’s ‘renewed appeal for the immediate convening’ of the General Assembly sounds quite grotesque.” of the General Assembly of the Judges of the Tribunal on the selection of candidates for the position of the President of the Tribunal, as none of the signatories of the letter took part in the General Assembly of the Judges of the Tribunal, which was convened by the President of the Tribunal a few weeks ago as a result of a similar letter, judge Wyrembak points out.
He also expressed hope that the case of the president’s motion regarding the amendment to the law on the Supreme Court “will not be used as a kind of ram used to impose the views and will of the five judges of the Tribunal on the Constitutional Tribunal and its organs.”
“I hope that the signatories of the letter will leave the decisions of the Constitutional Tribunal and its bodies to them – that they will respect the resolutions of the General Assembly of the Judges of the Tribunal and will quickly return to fulfilling all obligations arising from the status of a Constitutional Tribunal judge. However, I am aware that this is a difficult hope, given the circumstances to submit a letter – just on the first day of experiencing the Paschal Triduum by Poles,” judge Wyrembak replied.
Dispute in the Constitutional Tribunal
At the beginning of January, six judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, including vice-president Mariusz Muszyński, sent a letter to Przyłębska and the president, in which they demand that Przyłębska convene the General Assembly of Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal and select candidates from among whom the president will nominate a new president. Six judges of the Constitutional Tribunal believe that on the basis of the Act on the organization and procedure before the Constitutional Tribunal, Przyłębska’s term as president has come to an end. Przyłębska stressed in response that the letter of the six judges “has no basis in law and is pointless”. She stated that her function as president would expire at the end of her term as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal, i.e. in December 2024. Przyłębska also stated that the six judges’ letter is premature and that their request will be implemented after December 9, 2024.
In early March, the press service of the Constitutional Tribunal reported that Przyłębska convened the General Assembly of the Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, which “by an absolute majority of votes, in the presence of two-thirds of the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, adopted a resolution in which it was stated no grounds for convening an assembly to elect candidates for the President of the Tribunal“.
The fate of the court act, money from KPO in the background
In February, President Andrzej Duda made a decision refer the Act on the Supreme Court and other courts to the Constitutional Tribunalon which entry into force the payment of funds for KPO depends.
The president, when asked about the dispute in the Constitutional Tribunal at the end of February in an interview with TVN24, replied: – Let the Constitutional Tribunal put an end to the quarrel, since it is internally quarreling, and get to work, take care of what belongs to it.
Also at the end of February, the President of the Constitutional Tribunal informed that the Constitutional Tribunal had initiated proceedings in connection with the application submitted by the President.
The positions of the Prime Minister and the Sejm have already been submitted on the matter. The Court has not yet set a hearing date in this case. The Constitutional Tribunal should deal with this motion in its full composition. At least 11 judges of the Constitutional Tribunal are required to convene a hearing in the full bench.
The amendment to the law on the Supreme Court, the draft of which was submitted by PiS deputies, is to fulfill the key “milestone” regarding the rule of law for the European Commission to unblock money for KPO. Pursuant to the amendment, he is to decide disciplinary and immunity cases of judges The Supreme Administrative Court, and not – as at present – the Chamber of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court. The amendment also provides for fundamental changes regarding the so-called test of independence and impartiality of the judge.
Duda: Let the Constitutional Tribunal quarrel, since it is internally quarreling, and get to work (statement of February 22)TVN24
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