Żurek reveals “plan B” in case President Nawrocki vetoes the act on the National Council of the Judiciary

The head of the Ministry of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, emphasized that if President Karol Nawrocki vetoes the amendment to the act on the National Council of the Judiciary, an attempt will be made to select judges for the new National Council of the Judiciary from the bottom up by the judicial community under the “old act” on the National Council of the Judiciary. Parliament would approve new judges, not elect them, he added.

On Friday, Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek announced that the amendment to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary – providing for the election of judicial members of the Council by all judges – has been with President Nawrocki since February 4, who has 21 days to decide on it.

On Monday, at an open meeting in Legionowo regarding the repair of the justice system, Żurek was asked about a possible “plan B” if the president vetoed the amendment. The minister said that on that day he met with the Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, among others. regarding discussions on this topic.

He emphasized that “plan B” is that we must proceed with the old act. As he explained, in order for a new National Council of the Judiciary to be created on the basis of the currently applicable law, “we must try to elect these fifteen judges at the bottom by the judicial community.” – Parliament, i.e. the democratic majority that governs today, would have to approve this group. No – make a choice, because if he makes a choice, he will commit the sin that PiS once committed and it will be questioned – said the head of the Ministry of Justice.

On Monday, in an interview with PAP, the president of the Association of Polish Judges “Iustitia”, Bartłomiej Przymusiński – like Żurek – noted that if the president does not sign the amendment, it is possible under the applicable law to build the National Council of the Judiciary, which will still have the advantage of independence from politicians. – This will happen if the Sejm respects the choices made by the judges and the judges who obtained the best result in the vote are appointed to the Council – said Przymusiński.

According to him, the procedure for selecting candidates for judge-members of the National Council of the Judiciary may consist in the fact that they will be selected in general elections held in all courts in Poland on the occasion of meetings convened by the presidents of the courts.

Pursuant to the applicable act on the National Council of the Judiciary, the Marshal of the Sejm is to announce the elections of judge members to the National Council of the Judiciary no later than on Wednesday, which results from the four-year term of office of the current judge members ending on May 12 this year. (current members elected May 12, 2022).

The amendment to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary and the related amendment to the Electoral Code were passed by the Sejm on January 23. Five days later, the Senate adopted it without amendments, from where it was sent to the president. According to its provisions, 15 judge-members of the National Council of the Judiciary are to be elected in direct and secret elections – organized by the National Electoral Commission – by all judges in Poland, and not – as before – by the Sejm. The change is criticized by PiS, and the government argues that it will make the National Council of the Judiciary constitutional.

Judges of all types and levels of courts are to be represented in the new National Council of the Judiciary: common, military, administrative, as well as the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. Judges with at least 10 years of judicial experience and 5 years in a given court could run, which also opens the way for some of the so-called neojudges.

The amendment is openly criticized by, among others, the head of the Chancellery of the President, Zbigniew Bogucki, who accused it of being inconsistent with the constitutional principle of the supremacy of the nation as a sovereign, due to the fact that the election of 15 judge-members of the National Council of the Judiciary will be delegated exclusively to judges without democratic control.

The criticism of the amendment is part of a broader dispute over the reform of the National Council of the Judiciary, initiated by changes following the amendment of the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary in December 2017 during the government of the United Right. As a result of these changes, the judicial part of the National Council of the Judiciary ceased to be elected by the judicial community and began to be elected by the Sejm.

In the opinion of the critics of this solution, this means politicization of the National Council of the Judiciary as a body guarding the independence of the courts and is in contradiction with the constitutional principle of the separation of powers. As a result, the status of judges appointed with the participation of the National Council of the Judiciary since 2018 (so-called neo-judges) is being questioned due to the nomination procedure, which – according to the current authorities – citing the judgments of the CJEU, the ECtHR, and the Supreme Court – is defective and violates the standards of judicial independence. (PAP)

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