On Friday 13 March, the Sejm elected fresh judges of the Constitutional Court. The fresh TK judges are six. The candidates reported by the Law and Justice have lost their vote.
Members have besides previously adopted a resolution on "necessary actions to guarantee that the Constitutional Court meets the requirements of a court established by law, independent and impartial". This has to do with the choice of judges by the Sejm – and it can be assumed now that there will be a storm about this too, as in the remainder of the text.
The Sejm elected fresh judges of the Constitutional Court
The recently elected members of the Court were:
Dr Krystian Markiewicz – justice of the territory Court in Katowice (former president of the Iustitia Association and 1 of the victims of the hatred crime),
Dr Maciej Taborowski – prof. of the Polish Academy of Sciences (expert on EU law, erstwhile Deputy Ombudsmans Adam Bodnar and Marcin Wiąck),
dr hab. Marcin Dziurda – prof. at the University of Warsaw ( civilian law expert, erstwhile president of the lawyer General's Office),
Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska – president of the Opole territory Court and president of the Association of Judges Themis,
Dr Magdalena Bentkowska – from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, in the past represented cardiosurgeon Mirosław G. in a trial against Zbigniew Ziobrze,
dr hab. Dariusz Szostek – prof. at the University of Silesia, expert at the Artificial Intelligence Observatory of the European Parliament.
The Sejm, on the another hand, rejected the candidatures submitted by the Law and Justice: prof. Artur Kotowski of the University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in Warsaw and Dr Michał Skwarzyński of the Catholic University of Lublin.
Interestingly, not all, but "only" the majority of PiS and Confederacy MPs voted against the candidates of the ruling coalition. Ms Agnieszka Wojciechowska van Heukelom voted for Maciej Taborowski, and Ms Joanna Lichocka abstained during the vote on the candidacy of Marcin Dziurda.
The Sejm adopted a resolution on the Constitutional Court. There's a reaction.
The Constitutional Tribunal, as we read in the resolution adopted by the Sejm, "in the light of constitutional standards and binding Polish global and European standards, ceased to fulfil its function as an impartial and independent body, serving the citizens of the Republic as the most crucial guardian of their constitutional rights".
The authors of the paper referred to the case law of the ultimate Court, the ultimate Administrative Court, the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
"The Sejm considers it essential to take action to form the individual composition of the Constitutional Court in specified a way that the Court meets the requirements of the court established by law, independent and impartial, including in peculiar the election of judges of the Constitutional Court to vacant seats, taking into account the request to reconstruct public assurance in that body," we read.
The TK has already issued a message in this case. "The Sejm of the Republic as a constitutional body has the right to express its views and opinions in resolutions, but is not entitled to measure the position and position of another constitutional body – the Constitutional Court, including judges and its President" – reads the release on X.
And then, "Such action is grossly contrary to constitutional principles of division of state authorities and the distinctness of judicial power and judicial independence. It forms part of a number of actions of the legislative and executive authorities in Poland, which reconcile with the constitutional order. These actions are threatening the institutions of the state and its citizens, which consequence in tremendous chaos, for example, due to the questioning of judgments issued by 1 3rd of judges in Poland".
