Polish opposition asks top court to block central bank head probe

Polish opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) has asked the top court to declare laws allowing a parliamentary committee to summon the central bank chief for hearings unconstitutional in a bid to block a probe planned by the ruling coalition.

Polish opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) has asked the top court to declare laws allowing a parliamentary committee to summon the central bank chief for hearings unconstitutional in a bid to block a probe planned by the ruling coalition. Lawmakers from Poland's ruling coalition are planning to submit a preliminary motion to put central bank chief Adam Glapinski before a state tribunal by the end of the month. The motion would be dealt with by the constitutional responsibility committee in the parliament and Glapinski could be summoned for hearings.

Glapinski, whose ties to the leader of Law and Justice, the former ruling party, go back decades, has been accused by the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk of not being sufficiently independent. A motion to the Constitutional Court concerning a procedure at the committee was submitted on March 6, Krzysztof Szczucki, a PiS lawmaker who sits on the committee, told Reuters on Thursday.

"The central bank governor does not respond to the parliament, so the initial proceedings should not be held before the constitutional responsibility committee, it should be a body that would not infringe his independence," Szczucki said. "The goal is for the process to follow the rules, but we expect it will attempt to harass the central bank governor."

The new pro-European Union government led by Tusk has vowed to ensure that those it accuses of wrongdoing during the rule of the previous nationalist administration will be brought to account, and it has launched sweeping changes in state media and the judicial system.

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