The deputy spokesman for the Law and Justice party, Radosław Fogiel, spoke about the fate of the challenged Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. – The reform of the judiciary is not finished. Perhaps the point of disagreement in the implementation of further reform will disappear, which does not mean that the principle of the necessity to be held accountable by the judiciary community will disappear – he said in Polish Radio.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on 15 July that the system of disciplinary liability of judges in Poland is inconsistent with European Union law. On July 14, the vice-president of the CJEU, Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, decided to apply interim measures to Poland in another case in the form of “immediate suspension” of the application of national provisions relating to the powers of the Disciplinary Chamber not recognized by the Supreme Court. The European Commission gave Poland until August 16 to reply whether it would comply with the CJEU’s decision. After that, financial sanctions will be possible.
Fogiel about the Disciplinary Chamber in question
Deputy spokesman for Law and Justice, Radosław Fogiel, asked on Tuesday in Polish Radio about the fate of the Disciplinary Chamber in question, said that “the Disciplinary Chamber itself is simply one of the possible solutions.”
– We talked about the fact that the reform of the judiciary is not finished. We will undertake further work, perhaps this point of contention in the implementation of further reform will indeed disappear, which does not mean that the principle of the necessity to be held accountable by the judiciary community will disappear, because each branch of power, be it the judiciary, executive or legislative branch, bears such responsibility – added.
When asked how judges who would commit crimes would bear disciplinary responsibility, he said that “we will be able to return to this when the bills are in the Sejm”. – Then the final decisions on this matter will be known – he added.
Noting that resignation from the Disciplinary Chamber would be a kind of a concession, an attempt to find a compromise, he replied that “this is already a matter of interpretation, because if we evaluate certain solutions and see that better solutions can be found, why would we not apply these better solutions”.
– Importantly in this case, our position remains unchanged as to the role and position of the judiciary. The issues of the judiciary and the organization of the judiciary are reserved to the competence of the member states, he said.
Terlecki: in a sense, we meet the expectations of the Tribunal
On July 22, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was asked at the conference what actions the government intends to take in relation to the Disciplinary Chamber not recognized by the Supreme Court. – Today we are in a situation where it can and should be reviewed the operation of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court – he admitted.
Head of the PiS club, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Ryszard Terlecki asked the next day in the Sejm about this “review of the operation” of the questioned as an independent judicial body of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, he replied that “this is a good concept, all the more so as we meet the expectations of the (EU – ed.) Tribunal”. – The reform is ready, prepared, we will introduce it in the autumn. There will also be a change regarding this disciplinary commission – he announced.
When asked if an act on changing the functioning of the Disciplinary Chamber had already been prepared, he replied shortly: – No.
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