"This is not lawmaking. This is pushing through a bill that was drafted in unclear circumstances, in obscure circles. A bill that has hardly been amended. A bill that violates the fundamental principles of the Constitution. This is very poor lawmaking," Professor Marek Chmaj, a constitutional expert, comments on what happened in the Sejm last night.
"The law on the Supreme Court is an extremely important act with an impact on the political system. Such an act should be passed peacefully, following thorough analyses, expert opinions, discussions, to ensure good functioning of the Supreme Court, which is an important constitutional body," Professor Chmaj argued.
The constitutional expert listed the irregularities that occurred during the debate about the bill on the Supreme Court.
Amendments grouped by party – an "unprecedented" practice
"The bill was published less than a week ago, it was rushed through the first reading, and today, when amendments were submitted, the MPs were not even given a chance to read them, there was no discussion, no one could take the floor, the amendments were rejected in blocks, formed not on the basis of their contents, but the parties that proposed them, which is an unprecedented practice," he emphasised.
Professor Chmaj also commented on grouping and rejecting the amendments to the bill submitted by the opposition.
"This is a very casual approach to the Standing Orders of the Sejm. It was clearly visible that the chairman of the committee wanted to close the committee meeting as quickly as possible, without going into the intentions, ideas or proposals of the MPs participating in the debate," he said. "What is more, the opposition was not given a chance to hold a reasoned discussion, to support the amendments they submitted or to put forward their arguments," he added.
"The legislative procedure violates the Standing Orders"
"The parliamentary majority used brutal force and took a casual approach to the Standing Orders to close the debate as quickly as possible and make everything look flawless in formal terms," the constitutional expert said.
In his opinion, the strategy adopted by the Law and Justice party is not right, but it is effective.
"It is very effective, because the committee meeting was successfully closed," he pointed out. "Now, the Standing Orders of the Sejm were violated many times during the committee meeting, but there are no grounds to appeal against the procedure to the Constitutional Tribunal, as the Tribunal only deals with violations against the provisions of the Constitution. According to the Constitution, an act should be adopted in three readings, and this act will be adopted in three readings, so – despite repeated violations of the Standing Orders – the procedure specified in the Constitution was not breached today," Professor Chmaj explained.
"The legislative procedure in this case violates the Standing Orders of the Sejm and the good parliamentary practice. Unfortunately, the political culture, lawmaking culture, is deteriorating, leading to such outrageous scenes as the ones we witnessed at the committee meeting today," the constitutional expert said.
"The President has no constitutional reflection"
"The goal was simple: the committee was to force the bill through as quickly as possible so that it could be submitted for the third reading at the next Sejm session. The idea was to refer the bill to the Senate on Friday so that it is ready for the President to sign at the weekend, I suppose,” he explained. “This act will de facto do away with the Supreme Court," he emphasised.
The constitutional expert also speculated as to what will happen with the act on the Supreme Court.
"The Senate is unlikely to propose any amendments. And the President, as the last two years have shown, has no constitutional reflection and often forgets that, according to Article 126 of the Constitution, he should ensure observance of the Constitution," Professor Chmaj said.
"We should forget about these acts, the sooner the better"
The events in the Sejm were also commented on by Ryszard Balicki, PhD, a constitutional expert.
"They refer to the most important, fundamental matters, it is really the foundation of our Constitution, our democracy, because we are talking about the essence of the separation of powers, how this separation will be implemented and how the principle of independence of the judiciary will be implemented," he said. "This principle is being violated before our very eyes. The consequences will be very painful for us," he said.
"We must remember that we are not talking about one act, but several legal acts. Two acts have already been adopted, this is the third one. We must consider them jointly, however, as each of them wrecks, to a greater or lesser extent, the judicial system. These three acts will completely destroy the judiciary," he emphasised.
"We should expect Mr President, who is the guardian of the Constitution, to respect his oath of allegiance to the Constitution. These acts should not enter the legal system. In this situation, the President should exercise the right of veto. We should forget about these acts, the sooner the better," Balicki said.
Źródło: tvn24.pl/tłumaczenie Intertext.com.pl
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24