Emergency laws are so mostly formulated that they can be easy abused by the authorities. It is adequate that they consider, for example, fresh hacking attacks or exercises of Russian troops in Belarus as a safety threat, and can already introduce an emergency state.
The government will deal with the threat
Last Wednesday, Russian hackers attacked the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Polish Post and respective banks. There have besides been repeated incidents of stopping trains with a peculiar radio signal sent by unauthorised persons.
On the same day, a peculiar briefing of the military and Border defender took place in Krynka over the Belarusian border, with the participation of the Minister of Interior and Administration, Mariusz Kamiński. The latter, appearing against the background of the celebrated border fence, referred to the situation 2 years ago erstwhile a state of emergency was introduced in the cross-border lane in September 2021. This included a ban on entry to border towns and a ban on access to information about the activities of uniformed services in this area.
– We analysed the situation, it is full of threats, but we will deal with them, just as we dealt with the wave of illegal migration that Putin and Lukashenko wanted to flood Europe 2 years ago," said the minister.
Is it actual that the government wants a two-year-old method to “resolve” threats that, as you can see, are not lacking? After all, the accumulation of abroad troops close our border could be interpreted as an external threat to the state, which, according to Article 229 of the Polish Constitution, allows the introduction of martial law. On the another hand, the threat to the safety of citizens (and their money in the stock exchange and banks) is simply a prerequisite for a state of emergency. The laws governing both states besides explicitly mention "actions in cyberspace" which may endanger this security.
Prof. Krzysztof Prokop, a constitutionalist from the University of Natural and Humanities in Siedlce, the provisions of the Polish Constitution, as well as the emergency laws specify the concept of a threat to the safety of the state and citizens. “They so let the Council of Ministers to interpret and decide whether to introduce specified states,” the expert says. He besides notes that the laws on the state of emergency and war, passed in 2002, were written with real threats in mind. There were fresh memories of the attacks on the planet Trade Center and another objects in the US that occurred a year earlier. “The instrumental application of these rules would distort their sense,” says Prof. Prokop.
Just a small flood.
The real nonsubjective of the rulings could be to postpone during the parliamentary elections, especially with adverse electoral forecasts for their candidates. due to the fact that at the time of the emergency and 90 days after the end of the emergency, no elections can be held. The state of emergency can take up to 150 days, so it is possible to postpone elections by up to 240 days, almost 8 months. A martial law can be introduced without a time limit.
The introduction of a state of emergency and of war requires a peculiar procedure, due to the fact that the government requests the president to do so, this 1 issues an appropriate regulation, which in addition must approve the Sejm. Thus, at least theoretically, the Constitution of the Republic of Poland provides an nonsubjective approach to the conditions for introducing an emergency. The procedure for introducing a natural disaster is simpler. It is enough, for example, to flood in 1 municipality only so that the government can introduce specified a state. That's adequate to hold elections across the country.
"Unfortunately, fresh years have repeatedly shown how instrumental the law can be treated by the rulers. It cannot be excluded, therefore, that there will be a temptation to introduce a state of emergency to postpone elections – says Dr. Maciej Berek, a prof. at the Faculty of Constitutional Law of the University of Warsaw. However, it recalls that the same ruling in various ways tried to save the 2020 presidential election deadline. In spite of the serious dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic, no natural disaster was introduced.
– At the time, very delicate solutions, including legal ones, were sought out – recalls Dr. Berek, referring to the thought of the alleged enveloped elections. He adds that the regulation of law authorities should do so: defend legal institutions serving freedom and democracy, avoid solutions to this restrictive freedom and strive for elections on time.
When a Possible Emergency
According to Article 228 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, exceptional regimes may be introduced in exceptional cases:
- In situations of peculiar threat, where the usual constitutional measures are insufficient, an appropriate emergency may be introduced: martial law, emergency or natural disaster. ...
- The action taken as a consequence of the emergency must correspond to the degree of danger and should aim to reconstruct the average functioning of the State as shortly as possible. ...
- At the time of the emergency and within 90 days of its completion, the word of office of the Sejm, a national referendum, may not be shortened, and the word of office of the president of the Republic shall be extended accordingly. Elections to local authorities are only possible where no emergency has been introduced.
