The head of the Constitutional Tribunal, Julia Przyłębska, ordered the publication of eight Constitutional Tribunal decisions on its website. These are decisions whose content has not been announced by the Government Legislation Centre. The RCL does not publish judgments in connection with the resolution of the Sejm adopted in March on eliminating the effects of the constitutional crisis of 2015-2023. At that time, the Sejm found that Mariusz Muszyński, Justyn Piskorski and Jarosław Wyrembak are not judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, and that numerous judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal are flawed by a legal defect. It also stated that the function of the President of the Constitutional Tribunal is held by an unauthorized person.
In the document dated July 25 Julia Przyłębska wrote that it orders the publication of the decisions on the Constitutional Tribunal's website “in view of the arbitrary departure of the President of the Government Legislation Centre from the constitutional requirement to immediately publish the Constitutional Tribunal's decisions in the official body in which the normative act was published (Journal of Laws and Monitor Polski) – which finds no legal basis whatsoever”.
These are decisions with reference numbers: SK 123/20, SK 59/21, U 1/24 (concerning changes in the rules of procedure of courts in the context of judges appointed by the new National Council of the Judiciary), K 27/23 (on application of “anti-covid” regulations to prepare for postal elections in 2020), U 5/24 (concerns parliamentary resolution on the Constitutional Tribunal of 2024), SK 140/20, SK 22/21 and K 7/24 (concerning the adoption by the Sejm two acts without the participation of legally convicted persons Maciej Wąsik and Mariusz Kamiński).
Przyłębska: an attempt at slightly extra-statutory action
She commented on her decision on Saturday on Radio Maryja. – I made this decision after numerous correspondences I tried to exchange with the chairwoman of the Government Legislation Centre (Joanna Knapińska – ed.). This is an attempt by the Constitutional Tribunal to act somewhat outside the law in such an extremely difficult practice that finds no justification in legal regulations – said Julia Przyłębska.
Julia Przyłębska Paweł Supernak/PAP
In her opinion, the current situation is “bizarre and the law is becoming anarchist”. – The Prime Minister could intervene (…). Such action is a repeated violation of the constitution in various aspects by the executive power. The constitution states that courts and tribunals are a separate authority. Interfering in their operation is unconstitutional – she stated.
Przyłębska is considering preparing an “explanation of this situation” in two language versions – Polish and English.
The function of the President of the Constitutional Tribunal “is performed by an unauthorized person”
The RCL does not publish judgments in connection with the resolution of the Sejm adopted on 6 March on eliminating the effects of the constitutional crisis of 2015-2023 in the context of the activities of the Constitutional Tribunal.
The Sejm then decided that Mariusz Muszyński, Justyn Piskorski and Jarosław Wyrembak are not judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, and that numerous rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are flawed by a legal defect. It also stated that the function of the President of the Constitutional Tribunal is held by an unauthorized person. It was justified that the election of Julia Przyłębska was made without obtaining the legally required resolution of the General Assembly of Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Julia Przyłębska Radek Pietruszka/PAP
“It is undisputed that public authorities are obliged to observe the Constitution, and in particular the principle of legalism resulting from Art. 7 of the Constitution, according to which public authorities operate on the basis of and within the limits of the law. The Sejm of the Republic of Poland takes the position that taking into account in the activities of a public authority body the decisions of the Constitutional Tribunal issued in breach of the law may be considered a violation of the principle of legalism by these bodies” – it was written in the resolution.
According to Julia Przyłębska, this resolution is “completely illegal”.
Constitutional Tribunal judgments unpublished during PiS rule
In 2016, then Prime Minister Beata Szydło suspended the publication of three Constitutional Tribunal judgments from March, August and November of the same year. This was during the implementation of changes in the justice system by Law and Justicewhich was done, among other things, by taking control of the constitutional court. In the rulings withheld before publication, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled, among other things, that the amendment to the Constitutional Tribunal Act of December 2015 was unconstitutional and that the Constitutional Tribunal Act of July 2016 was partially unconstitutional.
The judgments were published in mid-2018, which was intended to improve Poland’s relations with the European Commission, which has been demanding that the Polish government respect the rule of law. When the judgments were published, they referred to statutes that were no longer in force, because PiS had changed the regulations in the meantime.
Main image source: Paweł Supernak/PAP