Polish parliament starts work on reforming Constitutional Tribunal

The three were appointed to posts for which other judges had previously been nominated. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that such appointments were illegal and denied citizens the "right to a tribunal established by law".

Polish lawmakers will start debating on Wednesday plans to repair the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal following changes made by the previous nationalist government that critics say have undermined the court's independence. This is one of the conditions that Poland, now led by pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk, must meet to regain access to billions of euros in EU funds. Brussels decided to unblock the money even though the reforms have not been completed yet.

The Constitutional Tribunal, which rules on the validity of laws, was a key part of an overhaul of Poland's courts by the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government. Since PiS lost power, it keeps attempting to block the new government's reforms. The two draft bills would change the way the Tribunal's judges are appointed, raising the required majority so that they would need the support of different parties in parliament.

The bills also state that three judges appointed by the president in 2015, just after PiS came to power, are "persons not authorised to adjudicate" and that rulings issued with their participation are invalid. The three were appointed to posts for which other judges had previously been nominated.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that such appointments were illegal and denied citizens the "right to a tribunal established by law". Similar reservations had been expressed by the European Commission. According to the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation, the new legislation would apply to 85 rulings, including a controversial 2020 verdict that resulted in a near-total ban on abortion.

"However, the Constitutional Tribunal also issued a number of judgments which (...) do not raise any objections. Some of them also concerned issues important from the perspective of human rights protection," the Foundation wrote in a report. The bills, if approved by parliament, will most probably be vetoed by President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, who has previously said he would not agree to his judicial nominations being questioned. Duda's term expires next year.

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