Senate Committees Legislation, and on Human Rights, the Rule of Law and Petitions Committee on Tuesday evening recommended the upper house should reject the bill amending the laws on common courts and the Supreme Court. The Senate will be examining the bill at a plenary session on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, after more than three-hour session, the Senate committees concluded the session which had begun last week. The motion, stating the committees would recommend the upper house to reject the bill, was submitted senator Marek Borowski (Civic Coalition).
Borowski's motion was supported by 17 senators from the committee, with 10 being against it. There were no abstentions.
Law and Justice (PiS) senator Marek Pęk called for the amendment to be approved by the Senate in original form. This postulate was submitted as PiS minority motion.
The draft law, already approved by the lower house of parliament on December 20th, would allow judges who question planned reforms to be disciplined.
The latest judiciary overhaul came after some judges questioned the independence of peers nominated by a panel set up under rules drawn up by the PiS-dominated parliament after nationalists won the 2015 elections.
PiS argues that the reforms are necessary to make Poland's courts more efficient.
The legislation will now be discussed in the upper house of parliament, the Senate, which has been controlled by anti-PiS parties.
The opposition can delay the legislation, but has no power to derail it.
Thousands of people, including judges and lawyers from many EU member states, marched through Warsaw on Saturday (January 11) to protest against what they say are government attempts to curb the powers of the judiciary in Poland.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP, Reuters