‘They should never be elected judges of the Constitutional Tribunal’ Black clouds hang over Pavlovich and Piotrowicz again

Known for their modesty and rudeness Krystyna Pawłowicz and Stanisław Piotrowicz can become victims of the upcoming clash of the fresh parliamentary majority with the Court occupied by Julia Przyłębska. any politicians of the ruling coalition believe that their appointment to the Constitutional Court was illegal. "They have exceeded the right age" – we hear from associate of the Civic Coalition (KO).

We remind you that the word of office of Julia Przyłębska as president of the Constitutional Tribunal on 20 December 2022 and it is not possible to apply for this function again. However, during the course of the PiS, he amended the provisions extending the function of the president of the Constitutional Tribunal and felt that they besides required the cook Kaczyński. Unfortunately, PiS omitted the earlier ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal in its besides cases, which revealed that in the case of an extension of the word of office of the president of the Constitutional Tribunal, these provisions were only applicable to the fresh President.

From organization to TK

It has been known for a long time that politicians are planning to mark the fresh majority at the Court led by Julia Przyłębska. It is likely that following the takeover of the regulation by the Civic Coalition (KO), the 3rd Road and the Left in the Sejm, resolutions will be passed declaring the nullity of the appointment of alleged double judges to the TK – elected by the Law and Justices in 2015 to fill previously occupied positions. The fresh coalition continues to discuss the method aspects of how this would be implemented, but the direction is clear. Currently, attention is focused on 3 judges: Mariusz Muszyński, as well as Justyna Piskorski and Jarosław Wyrembaku. However, onetu's information shows that it can besides get hot around 2 another people: Krystyna Pawlowicz and Stanisław Piotrowicz.

Former PiS MPs have been in the TK since autumn 2019. Pavlowicz was elected as a justice almost straight from the parliamentary bench, as she had obtained a mandate in the Sejm a fewer weeks earlier.

Piotrowicz, despite losing in the parliamentary elections, continued his career in the Constitutional Court. They were both the faces of the PiS's changes in the judiciary. Stanisław Piotrowicz led the Sejm committee of justice for 4 years and conscientiously followed all orders from Nowogrodzka. If there was a request for legislative changes by morning, this was the case. The position at the TK was so a reward.

“Pawlowicz and Piotrowicz, in my opinion, should never have been elected judges. At the time of their election, they did not meet the statutory requirements," Onet says.

This issue arose in the autumn of 2019 erstwhile both were appointed to the Constitutional Court. Doubts stemmed from the Constitutional Court Act, which states that the justice of the Constitutional Tribunal should "comply with the essential requirements" to take the position of justice of the ultimate Court. In turn, the ultimate Court Act states that the ultimate Court justice is going to remainder after reaching the age of 65.

At the time of their appointment to TK Pawlowicz and Piotrowicz, they were 67 years old. The case caused a stir. 2 legal opinions commissioned by then Deputy Speakers of the Sejm, Piotr Zgorzelski (PSL) and Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska (PO), confirmed that this fact should close the way for both judges to a judicial career.

Interestingly, the evidence in the ultimate Court Act on the transition of judges to a state of remainder at the age of 65 was an thought of Law and Justice, which aimed at hindering further ruling by uncomfortable ultimate Court judges opposing changes in the judiciary promoted by the Law and Justice.

Doubts about the written appointments of Constitutional Court judges

In fresh weeks the Polish political scene is again the arena of the debate on the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court. Despite the controversy, the majority of the Sejm decided to elect Krystyna Pawłowicz and Stanisław Piotrowicz as positions in the TK. This decision was not clear, and further questions arise as to the legality.

During this process, Onet portal spoke to Prof. Ryszard Piotrowski, a constitutionalist from the University of Warsaw. The scientist stressed that the first intention of the legislature was not to introduce age restrictions for candidates for judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, especially given that they had previously served as much older people. Even if it is assumed that changes to the law may propose certain age restrictions, the Constitution and the Constitutional Tribunal Act would inactive have precedence over these provisions.

Professor Piotrowski pointed out the deficiency of a certain age limit in the ultimate Court Act and stressed that this law simply imposes age conditions on candidates who must be more than 40 years old. He besides noted that the Act on the position of Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal precisely determines the minute erstwhile the Judges were transferred to remainder after their word of office. Nevertheless, the subject is now returning to political discussion, as the fresh majority in the Sejm is considering changes.

Decisions on this substance will be taken in a fewer weeks, but the fresh Sejm seems to hold their publication. There were doubts as to whether the resolutions of the Sejm concerning the nomination of judges in general would be published in the Polish Monitor, an authoritative diary issued by the Prime Minister. Mateusz Morawiecki will supervise him for the next 2 weeks.

There is no uncertainty that there is any tension here, due to the fact that although the publication of resolutions and another decisions is the work of the Prime Minister, the organization Law and Justice had previously ignored the regulations in this area. The situation is recalled a fewer years ago erstwhile Prime Minister Beata Szydło delayed the announcement of respective Constitutional Court judgments. At that time the process was under the direction of prof. Andrzej Rzeplinski.

“We will do it erstwhile we have all the tools in our hand. Patience" is words that come from an crucial policy of the Civic Coalition, signaling that the current opposition is looking at how the fresh majority in the Sejm makes decisions on the composition of the Constitutional Court.