A European body advising on issues of democracy and its violation will not postpone the publication of its highly critical report on legal changes performed by the current Polish government, despite dissatisfaction coming from Warsaw.
Though the Polish government itself requested the Council of Europe's Venice Commission to issue the opinion, it soon became evident the action will backfire against the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, after a draft of the report leaked prematurely and was published by a Polish daily, Gazeta Wyborcza.
In the leaked draft opinion, the Venice Commission said an ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland poses a danger to the rule of law, democracy and human rights. It emphasized that, in a democracy, mutual control and checks and balances on institutions of power are essential, and that the Constitutional Tribunal “was” a key element in that process.
The Venice Commission was asked by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look into the recent legal changes to the Constitutional Tribunal. Poland’s conservative government, elected in October, has been criticized at home and abroad for applying a series of changes to this highest judiciary body of the nation, which changes give the government greater power to push through legislation and to dismiss the judges. As a result of the legislation, tens of thousands of Poles took to the streets since December over a series of protests in cities across the country and, in January, the European Commission launched an inquiry into whether the controversial legislation violates EU standards.
The Polish government, which won an unprecedented majority in the October elections, and has since pushed through several controversial legislations (including one criticized as violating freedom of the press), did not hide its dismay at the leak. Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski – the very person who invited the Venice Commission to Poland – accused the body of being “political.”
“I regret to say that the Venice Commission has been unscrupulously used for political purposes, even before its work has been concluded,” Waszczykowski wrote in a statement.
“It is unfortunate that this draft opinion (…) was leaked in violation of its restricted character, and that discussions are now being based on a draft opinion,” Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said in a statement issued on March 2. “I urge all to await the final opinion, to be adopted at the formal session of the Venice Commission, and to avoid any misuse of it politically.”
That final opinion is to be issued this Friday, despite requests coming from Warsaw to delay it.
The changes to the judiciary body implemented by the government include increasing the number of judges to 13-15 from 9. Judges can now also come under investigation at a request from the president or the Minister of Justice.
