It started happening on public media. Hard. In spite of speculations, Minister of Culture Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz did not accept the way of liquidation of TVP or suspension of its board of directors. He chose the third, equally legal procedure. citing yesterday's resolution of the Sejm on "restore the legal order and impartiality and reliability of public media, and the Polish Press Agency", he dismissed the current directors of TVP, Polish Radio and Polish Press Agency and their supervisory board. After which he appointed fresh supervisory boards, these appointed fresh boards.
This resolution calls on all the authorities of the State to take immediate action "to reconstruct the constitutional governance of citizens' access to sound information and the functioning of public media", and in peculiar calls on the Treasury (who is represented in this case by the Minister of Culture) to take corrective action to accomplish the objectives set out in this resolution without hold pending the adoption and implementation of the applicable legislative solutions. So much for the obvious. The thicket of conflicting judgments and interpretations continues.
In the current legal order on the appointment and cancellation of the TVP Board, the National Media Council, set up by the Act in 2016, decided on its own, with the exception of the constitutional body, the KRRiT. However, on 13 December 2016, the Constitutional Tribunal declared the deprivation of the National Broadcasting and tv Council of participation in the appointment and dismissal of the authorities of TVP and Polish Radio to be unconstitutional (Event No K 13/16). The Court explicitly pointed out the request for the KRRiT to participate in the procedure for filling public service broadcasting.
If you consider (which is highly controversial in my belief) that the RMG Act is not in force, due to the fact that the TK considered its provisions to be unconstitutional, but on the another hand there are no provisions allowing KRRiT to appoint public media authorities, a legislative gap arises. It was it that Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz used. He felt that in a situation of actual derogation lex specialis should be referred to lex generalis. The State Treasury would so have the right to exercise its powers under Article 385 pairs. 1 Code of Commercial Companies, so to appoint and dismiss members of the supervisory board of the company.
Of course, the lawyers of the government side will double and trot, preparing strong and substantive interpretations justifying the regulation of law of the minister. At the same time, the jurisdictions associated with the Law and Justice will be equally powerful and equally substantive to prove the opposite. It will begin to spread arguments so complex that they will be completely incomprehensible to fans of both teams.
However, as I can afford a uncommon comfort of impartiality on this issue, I will admit without hesitation: Sienkiewicz exchanged public media boards for a rhyme. More than actual justification, looking for a legal excuse to enter facts made. If KO and its coalitions were to full adhere to the letters of law, they would gotta lead to an effective derogation of the provisions previously indicated. Here, however, the president would stand in their way. This would mean concreteization of the PiS' propaganda squad to Voronica for at least a twelve months. A twelve months in a row with the thickest guns. And Tusk couldn't afford to do that without condemning himself to an imminent defeat. Thus, having respect to the regulation of law and constitutional order, on the another hand the political existence of its own party, he chose the latter.
Of course, it's not over. Only now on the streets and at TVP will the real circus begin. The minute I wrote this, the words were silenced by the TVP INFO and its online release. shortly the business of the TVP building and attempts to reflect it will begin announced by Jarosław Kaczyński. There will be protests and pompous words. We are besides facing a long judicial battle, the prelude of which will be the decision of the National Court registry to take account of or not made by the Minister of Change.
The war on TVP began. I'm not rooting for either side. I won't miss the embarrassing intellectually propaganda mush being served by the written cameramen, ineptly imitating journalists. I will not cry for information programs where the "TV Journal" was a model of objectivity and pluralism, I will not miss Rachoni, Wildsteins and another Pereiras. They belong in a dumpster of history. However, it is impossible to repair the state on the rhyme. It is impossible to reconstruct the regulation of law by acting on the border of law or even beyond. If this style, which we rightly mentioned to the erstwhile team, enters into the blood of Tusk's people, alternatively of restoring normality, we will only see the escalation of chaos.
Przemysław Piasta
