"The President has signed the amendment to the law on common courts,” announced the President’s deputy chief of staff Paweł Mucha. He added that this was the part of the reform of the judiciary branch with the greatest impact on the interests of citizens.
On 15 July, the Senate adopted amendments to the acts on the National Council of the Judiciary and on lower courts.
The President has signed the act on common courts
The President announced on Monday that he would veto the acts on the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary. “I have decided to send back to the Sejm, that is, to veto, the law on the Supreme Court, as well as the law on the National Council of the Judiciary, because the Sejm caused them to be linked to each other,” he declared.
On Tuesday morning, the President's deputy chief of staff Paweł Mucha told Polish Radio Three that the President signed the amended act on common courts.
“This law, fundamental, basic and crucial for the reform in terms of citizens’ interests, has been signed and will come into force,” Mucha told Polish Radio Three.
“The key to the reform”
“This is the key to the reform, a very good bill drafted by the Ministry of Justice,” said the presidential minister.
“The act covers such issues as the random selection of judges, the equitable allocation of cases to judges, and strengthened administrative supervision by the Minister of Justice,” he continued.
“This supervision is necessary for the smooth operation of the system of justice, and concerns not the judicial, but the administrative issues,” he added.
“The act provides the Minister of Justice with real tools in the administrative sphere, which is very significant and important for the proper handling of cases by common courts,” pointed out Mucha.
Referring to Monday's decision to veto the amended act on the National Council of the Judiciary and the new law on the Supreme Court, Mucha said that the necessary reform of the judiciary has been “brought within the purview of fair legislation” by the President.
Amendments to the act on common courts
The bill on common courts will bring about the following changes.
1. The Minister of Justice is granted the power to dismiss within six months of the day the law comes into force the presidents and vice-presidents of common courts, without the need to consult the general assemblies of the courts about the candidates. The Minister of Justice will also have the power to appoint new presidents and vice-presidents.
As of today, the presidents of appellate and regional courts are appointed by the Minister of Justice after consultation with general assemblies of the courts. Presidents of district courts are appointed by presidents of appellate courts after consultation with judges of a given district court and the chief justice of the regional court.
The draft abolishes the model under which presidents of appellate and regional courts are appointed after consultation with general assemblies (and, in case of a negative recommendation, pending the approval of the National Council of the Judiciary).
2. The draft also stipulates that presidents of appellate, regional and district courts may be dismissed by the Minister of Justice during their term of office, in the event of gross or persistent failure to perform official duties; if the continuation of these functions is incompatible with the interests of the system of justice for some other reason; if it has been determined that the performance of duties required for the administrative oversight or organization of the court’s work or the work of lower courts, has been exceptionally ineffective; or if the judge has submitted a resignation.
Today, the presidents of appellate and regional courts may be dismissed by the Minister of Justice during their term of office in the event of gross failure to perform official duties and if the continuation of these functions is incompatible with the interests of the system of justice for some other reason. Random assignment of cases
3. The draft requires that cases be assigned to judges within each category randomly and equitably. The act introduces the principle of the immutability of the adjudication panel. A judge of a district court or prosecutor with at least ten years of service can become a judge of an appellate court.
4. It will be possible to appoint a judge to a position in the Chancellery of the President or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Coordinators for international cooperation, European law and human rights in civil and criminal cases would also be appointed in judicial regions.
5. Pursuant to the amended law, women who are judges or prosecutors, and have reached retirement age, that is, 60 years, have the right to retire. The institution of a rehabilitation leave for judges is also to be created.
The transfer of a judge to other departments
6. In his objections to the law on common courts, the Ombudsman stated that the act introduced new ways of exerting pressure on judges by making it possible to transfer a judge to another department without his or her consent.
This could be seen as a hidden disciplinary measure against nonconformist judges, who would thus be obliged to hear cases outside their area of expertise. Moreover, in the Ombudsman’s view, the transfer of a judge to another department will reduce the judicial efficiency of the judge, since he or she will need more time to hear cases of an unfamiliar type,” pointed out the Ombudsman.
The bill lacks the provision that a transfer without the judge’s consent must not result in a change of town/city where the judge is serving, which could happen if the reorganization of the judiciary led to the creation of departments of a court in other towns/cities,” he added.
Źródło: tvn24.pl/tłumaczenie Intertext.com.pl