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Polish MPs pass judicial bills amid accusations of threat to democracy
Source: The Guardian
Polish MPs pass judicial bills amid accusations of threat to democracy
Opponents see bills as an erosion of judicial independence under populist Law and Justice party
Christian Davies in Warsaw
Friday 8 December 2017 14.58 GMT
The Polish parliament has approved government proposals to hand the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) effective control of judicial appointments and the supreme court, in a move seen by critics as an erosion of judicial independence.
The government describes the plans as a necessary means to speed up the process of issuing judgments and to break what it describes as the grip of a “privileged caste” of lawyers and judges. But a coalition of civil society groups has warned that Poland will “definitively cease to be a democratic state of law” once the legislation is approved by the senate and the president, and becomes law.
The Council of Europe body responsible for monitoring the rule of law, known as the Venice commission, described the legislation as a “grave threat” that “puts at serious risk the independence of all parts of the Polish judiciary”.
A previous attempt to assume control of the justice system by the government in July was derailed by large-scale street protests and the surprise decision by the president, Andrzej Duda, to veto the proposals after they had been approved by the Polish parliament.
-snip-
Opponents see bills as an erosion of judicial independence under populist Law and Justice party
Christian Davies in Warsaw
Friday 8 December 2017 14.58 GMT
The Polish parliament has approved government proposals to hand the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) effective control of judicial appointments and the supreme court, in a move seen by critics as an erosion of judicial independence.
The government describes the plans as a necessary means to speed up the process of issuing judgments and to break what it describes as the grip of a “privileged caste” of lawyers and judges. But a coalition of civil society groups has warned that Poland will “definitively cease to be a democratic state of law” once the legislation is approved by the senate and the president, and becomes law.
The Council of Europe body responsible for monitoring the rule of law, known as the Venice commission, described the legislation as a “grave threat” that “puts at serious risk the independence of all parts of the Polish judiciary”.
A previous attempt to assume control of the justice system by the government in July was derailed by large-scale street protests and the surprise decision by the president, Andrzej Duda, to veto the proposals after they had been approved by the Polish parliament.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/08/polish-mps-pass-supreme-court-bill-criticised-as-grave-threat