WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s parliament voted for a resolution seeking changes in the National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ), as the new government attempts to undo reforms by the previous administration that critics say politicised the courts.
With the European Union having frozen billions of euros in funds earmarked for Poland, because of concern over the rule of law, the new pro-European Union coalition government has made it a priority to roll back the reforms.
Wednesday’s resolution said several resolutions forming part of the overhaul of the judicial system by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party were unconstitutional and called for what it called illegally appointed members of the NCJ to resign.
“(The resolution) has a symbolic meaning … indicating that we simply have a constitutional problem with one of the bodies that has a very important function,” Justice Minister Adam Bodnar told parliament, state-run news agency PAP reported.
The resolution was passed by 239 votes to 169.
President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, has repeatedly expressed his support for PiS’ court reforms that critics and European institutions say violate the rule of law. That support means the new government could face obstacles in trying to undo them.
In a statement after adoption of the resolution, the NCJ said it “undermines trust in constitutional bodies, undermines the legal order, and … initiates a conflict with the hallmarks of a constitutional crisis”.
The new parliament adopted on Tuesday a resolution on restoring the impartiality of public media, before taking a public news channel off the air the next day, and dismissing state media executives.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
