Poland’s constitutional crisis looks set to reignite next week, after the Council of Europe said Thursday that it would not delay publication of a report on the right-wing government’s actions towards the country’s constitutional court.
The Council’s Venice Commission is investigating whether changes to the composition of the Constitutional Tribunal and to rules governing its functioning undermine the rule of law. The group is due to meet on March 11 to adopt a final version of the report.
A draft, obtained by POLITICO on Saturday, is scathing about the changes: “As long as the situation of constitutional crisis related to the Constitutional Tribunal remains unsettled and as long as the Constitutional Tribunal cannot carry out its work in an efficient manner, not only is the rule of law in danger, but so is democracy and human rights.”
The decision is a disappointment to Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, who had denounced the leak of the draft, which also appeared in the Polish press, and asked the Commission to delay its verdict.
But the Council said there were no grounds for a postponement.
“Previous changes to the Venice Commission’s agenda have only been agreed when there have been significant changes in the law of the country in question,” said Andrew Cutting, a spokesman for the Council of Europe, an organization that aims to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law in its 47 member states. It is not part of the European Union.
“I do not see a reason why European institutions are dealing with a Polish matter. In our opinion no democratic principles are being broken” — Beata Szydło, Poland’s prime minister
Waszczykowski invited the Commission to Poland in December during the height of the crisis over the Tribunal, which had provoked strong opposition in Poland and concern abroad. There is a deadlock over whether judges chosen by the previous parliament or the current one — dominated by the ruling Law and Justice party — should sit on the court. Changes to the Tribunal’s rules also make it less able to check the government’s power, critics charge.
The negative tone of the draft is a problem for Waszczykowski. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Law and Justice and Poland’s most powerful politician, said the Commission had been invited in too early.
Beata Szydło, the prime minister, said, “I do not see a reason why European institutions are dealing with a Polish matter. In our opinion no democratic principles are being broken.”
The report will be issued during a week that promises to bring the issue of the Constitutional Tribunal back to the top of Poland’s agenda. The Tribunal itself is due to begin examining on March 8 whether the changes to its rules passed by parliament violate the constitution, something the government insists it doesn’t have the right to do.
The government has come under fire in the EU for its steps against the Tribunal, as well as other measures such as allowing for a greater politicization of the civil service, giving police more surveillance powers and putting public radio and television under tighter government control.
The European Commission launched an unprecedented “rule of law” probe against Poland in January. Waszczykowski wrote over the weekend to Frans Timmermans, Commission vice president, saying concerns about the Tribunal and rule of law in Poland were “groundless.”
The Commission said Thursday the letter is “being assessed.”