KPO, changes in the Supreme Court, PiS project. The Sejm is to deal with it this week, the opposition supports the amendments

PiS deputies On December 13, they submitted to the Sejm draft amendment to the Act on the Supreme Court. According to their proposals, he will 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 proposed amendment also provides for extending the scope of the so-called test of independence and impartiality of a judge, which could be initiated not only by the party to the proceedings, but also ex officio by the court itself. The project also complements the method of examining the impartiality of a judge.

Two days after the draft was submitted, the president declared that he had neither participated in its preparation nor had he been consulted. He announced that he would not agree to solutions that undermine the constitutional system and would not allow any legal act to be introduced into the Polish legal system that would undermine judicial appointments or allow anyone to verify them. The project was also criticized by PiS’s coalition partner at the time – Solidarity Poland with the Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro in the lead. Two were held at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister meetings of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki with parliamentarians of Solidarna Polska in this case.

The Sejm was supposed to consider this bill before Christmas, but it was removed from the agenda. The parliamentarians announced that he would appear at the next meeting, which will last from 11 to 13 January. This is also the result of the preliminary schedule, which was described by PAP on Monday. The draft amendments to the Supreme Court would be the first point of the meeting.

The approval of the European Commission depends on the adoption of changes in the judiciary transferring huge amounts of money to Poland under the National Reconstruction Plan.

Chairman of the Justice Committee and human rights Marek Ast confirmed on Polish Radio 24 that during the next session of the Sejm “the first reading of the draft will certainly take place”. “At least that’s the plan,” he said. He pointed out that this is only the beginning of the legislative process. – When the draft will be referred to the justice and human rights committee, then we will work on this submission in the committee and it will certainly not end during this sitting of the Sejm – he said.

– There is no such tension to consider it this week and go through the first, second reading and voting. We will just talk, seek support for this project and, of course, improve it, because as it usually happens with projects, there will probably be some changes during the work – said Ast.

The opposition clubs, which declared their will to work on the bill, prepared far-reaching amendments to it in December. They agreed that these amendments would be jointly supported by the clubs of the Civic Coalition, the Left, the Polish-PSL Coalition and the Polish 2050 circle. KO MP Robert Kropiwnicki told PAP that although the issue of opposition amendments was “frozen” when the project was removed from the agenda in December of the Sejm, they still remain valid and will be submitted if the bill is actually discussed. These are the three major fixes. Firstly, entrusting the disciplinary cases of judges to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court. Secondly, the restoration of the old procedure for the election of the National Council of the Judiciary by judges. Thirdly, the repeal of the so-called Muzzle Act.