Strasbourg, 11/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe (better known as the 'Venice Commission') finds that the recent reforms of the Polish Constitutional Court “undermine democracy, human rights and the rule of law” by “paralysing the effectiveness” of that Court, in an opinion published on Friday 11 March.
The Venice Commission stresses that the measures in question are the joint responsibility of both the current majority in the Polish Parliament (Sejm) and the former one, and flags up a number of issues. One of these issues concerns the excessive number of judges appointed by each of the majorities when successively in power.
Another problem relates to the quorum of 13 judges out of 15, who are required to make a two-thirds majority decision on any ruling. Previously, only nine judges were needed. “In combination with other amendments” (such as the setting in place of obligatory periods of between three and six months between the tabling of the complaint and the verdicts), this provision “will make it impossible to deal with urgent cases”, the Venice Commission stresses, adding that this “endangers not only the rule of law, but also the functioning of the democratic system”.
These amendments were examined and rejected by the Polish Constitutional Court itself on Wednesday 9 March, the constitutional law experts of the 'Venice Commission' point out. They confirm that the Court's decision was justified and deplore the announcement of the Polish government that the judgment would not be published or applied. “These unprecedented actions can only make the constitutional crisis in Poland even deeper”, they stress.
According to Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, the opinion of the 'Venice Commission' “provides a basis for dialogue with Poland”, which he will enter into during a trip to Warsaw in early April. A series of talks between Pedro Agramunt, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and several European leaders will be held in Brussels from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 March. Pedro Agramunt will be talking to Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for the Neighbourhood Policy, Elmar Brok, president of the 'foreign affairs' committee of the EP and Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland), co-president of the Euronest Parliamentary assembly. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)