The European Commission has said Poland's parliament must have the right to appoint new judges to the Constitutional Tribunal. The statement, given to POLITICO, supports Prime Minister Donald Tusk in his dispute with President Karol Nawrocki.
Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law Michael McGrath said: "The Polish Constitutional Tribunal needs to be able to function in accordance with the Polish constitution and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU." He added: "This matters for every Polish citizen, and it is for the Polish authorities to ensure that." McGrath also said the Venice Commission "has been clear that appointing the new judges lies within the power of the Sejm," Poland's lower house of parliament. McGrath did not endorse the suspension of Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy Bartłomiej Sochański.
Nawrocki has refused to swear in some Tribunal judges elected by the current parliamentary majority. According to the report, the court's leadership, which is linked to the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, has prevented those judges from working. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska took charge of the Tribunal and suspended Święczkowski and Sochański after they blocked the judges for months. Nawrocki called the move an unlawful takeover.
Tusk said Saturday that "in some matters there can be no compromise." He said: "We have waited too long for the treasure of an independent, democratic Poland to be frightened into retreat." He also said that "in a state governed by the rule of law, a politician cannot enter a court or tribunal and give orders or intimidate judges, even if he is the president." The report says Nawrocki returned to Warsaw from a flight to Senegal and entered the Tribunal shortly after midnight Saturday.
Korwin-Piotrowska has called an assembly of Tribunal judges for Tuesday, which could bring further conflict over control of the court.