The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, has stated that terminating the terms of all current judges of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal would be inconsistent with international standards and is therefore unacceptable. Deputy Justice Minister Dariusz Mazur shared the Commission's observations and recommendations with the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The opinion, prepared by experts and adopted on Friday, addressed proposed constitutional amendments concerning the Tribunal and two draft laws related to it.
According to Mazur, the Venice Commission strongly opposed the proposal to end the terms of all current judges, arguing that such a move would violate the principle of judicial irremovability and thus be impermissible.
According to the Venice Commission, "it would be preferable for the Constitutional Tribunal to regain its independence in a way that allows, as far as possible, for the terms of judges improperly appointed to previously occupied seats to be terminated or interrupted through legislation, as there is a basis for this in rulings against Poland," Mazur explained.
However, the Commission maintained that judges who were properly appointed should serve until their terms naturally expire.
Mazur noted that the proposal to terminate the terms of all judges was the most controversial aspect for the Venice Commission. At the same time, the Commission observed that the current political situation in Poland makes it unlikely that the necessary constitutional amendments could be passed.
TK ruling should be published with annotations
Another issue raised by the Commission concerned the publication of Tribunal rulings. "The Venice Commission believes that these rulings should be published. However, a note can be included indicating that the judgments were issued by an improperly composed panel or lack binding force," the deputy justice minister stated.
The Venice Commission also addressed proposed restrictions on eligibility for Tribunal membership. It raised no objections to the idea of barring individuals who had held government-related positions from becoming judges for four years.
"However, regarding whether mere membership in a political party should exclude someone from becoming a Constitutional Tribunal judge for four years if it was not accompanied by additional roles, such as in the government, the Commission was not entirely convinced but also did not categorically say 'no'," Mazur stated.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP