Poland's Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, who also serves as prosecutor general, told TVN24 on Tuesday (Jan. 2) that a draft bill regulating the way the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) members are appointed would soon be put forward. He also said that the resolution on the KRS, adopted by the parliament in December, has granted him the power to withhold the announcement of job openings for justices. "We're preparing for comprehensive solutions related with the Constitutional Tribunal," Bodnar announced.
Adam Bodnar told Monika Olejnik, the host of "Kropka nad i", about efforts that are already being made or will be made soon to fix the situation in the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS).
To a remark that the Polish parliament adopted a resolution regarding the KRS on Dec. 20, Bodnar replied that said resolution did not change the legal status of the Council, but "confirms a certain state of fact".
Asked what consequences the resolution would have, the minister said: "Firstly, all that fits within the boundaries of my competence. I can restrain announcements of new job openings for judges. And by withholding (the job openings - edit.) I can, in a sense, prevent the state of unconstitutionality from deepening further. So, no new job contest are carried out and no more people are appointed by the ill-functioning National Council of the Judiciary."
He added that "this is absolutely within the boundaries of the law".
Comprehensive solutions ahead
Bodnar was also asked if it was possible to call off KRS members who had been appointed by the parliament. He said that a draft bill would be presented, and hopefully processed by the parliament, that would correspondent with the three draft legislations currently on the table - one drafted by the Senate, one by Polish Judges Association "Iustitia", and one by "Themis" Association of Judges.
He noted that this kind of solutions require the president's signature. "But I take it at face value what the president said during the swearing-in (Donald Tusk's cabinet - edit.) on Dec. 13 - that if we speak with him, negotiate, discuss, then the president would agree to some solutions related with the rule of law," Bodnar said.
The minister also commented on the planned changes related with the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal.
"We're preparing for comprehensive solutions related with the Constitutional Tribunal," he said without specifying exactly what kind of solutions he had in mind. "I wouldn't like to get ahead right now because I think that what is to be proposed will be important in terms of building the right and responsible approach to the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal," he explained.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24