The Polish government wants the Constitutional Tribunal to decide what number of judges constitutes a full court there, the prime minister said on Wednesday, in a bid to overcome a row that threatens to block access to European Union funds.
The court has been split by a dispute over whether the term of its president Julia Przyłębska has expired, leaving it unable to convene in the most important cases which currently require the presence of at least 11 judges.
The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party initially proposed a bill that would reduce the number of judges constituting a full court to nine. The bill has yet to be voted on by the parliament.
"After several months of deadlock ... we came to the conclusion that it is worth submitting an application to the Constitutional Tribunal," Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters.
"If the Constitutional Tribunal decides to consider our application, its decision will be final and may mean that a lower number of judges will be needed to constitute a full court."
A government spokesman said the application had already been submitted to the Tribunal. The case won't need to be heard by a full court.
In February, Poland's parliament passed legislation the government hopes will unblock billions in EU funds, but President Andrzej Duda said he doubted the constitutionality of changes to the judicial system and he decided to refer them to the Constitutional Tribunal.
In February, the European Commission sued Poland in the EU's top court over violations of EU law by the Constitutional Tribunal. The lawsuit is part of a wider clash over the rule of law, which has resulted in the suspension of EU funds for Warsaw.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24