PiS politicians intend to defend the head of the KRRiT from the Court of State by a ruling of the unconstitutional TK Przyłębska

On Tuesday, “Gazeta Wyborcza” informed that Members of Law and Justice (PiS) had challenged in the “Constitutional Tribunal” – a body presently unconstitutionally shaped, the judgments of which are not published, which means that they do not enter into legal trade – provisions enabling the president of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) to appear before the Court of State. The proposal was submitted by a group of PiS Members, represented by Krzysztof Szczucki and Paweł Sztok.

Background

The preliminary motion for a Court of State for the president of the KRRiT, Maciej Świrski, was submitted in late May by a group of 185 coalition MPs. Members justified it, among others, "by blocking about PLN 300 million from subscriptions for public radio and television, blocking concessions for private broadcasters and not performing statistical surveys on tv stations' ratings in Poland".

Members of the KRRiT, including Świrski, considered this proposal to be a ‘unprecedented effort to intimidate the constitutional body and exert pressure’.

Purpose

The Sejm's vote of the resolution to bring Świrski to justice would automatically suspend him in his activities. To prevent specified a scenario, PiS MPs have challenged 7 provisions governing the parliamentary procedure in the Constitutional Court. They point out that the procedure does not take into account the rule of the independency of the KRRiT and criticise the provision of the absolute majority needed to bring the associate of the KRRiT to account, which, according to the Law, "does not take into account the constitutional standard of independency of the KRRiT".

Composition of the Constitutional Court

The case will be dealt with by the five-member composition of the Constitutional Court. The “Gazeta Wyborcza” stated that its ruling 2 consist of 2 doubles badly elected to the Constitutional Tribunal by the PiS — Justyn Piskorski (president) and Jarosław Wyrembak (rapporteur)”, as well as “former PiS Councillor Bartłomiej Sochanski (which causes his appointment to this office to be in violation of Article 178(3) of the Polish Constitution) and the judges Zbigniew Jędrzejewski and Michał Warciński.

We remind that the resolution of the Sejm stated that the judges of TK Mariusz Muszyński, Justin Piskorski and Jarosław Wyrembak have not been judges of the Constitutional Tribunal for respective years, and Julia Przyłębska is not entitled to service as president of the Constitutional Tribunal due to shortcomings in her appointment and the expiry of her six-year term. The resolution besides suggested that the rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal with the participation of these "judges" were affected by a legal defect. The Sejm called for these "judges" to resign from their positions and join the democratic transition process.

Controversy and Reactions

The appeal by the PiS Members caused controversy among the public. Critics indicate that this action may be an effort to defend the organization typical from liability for allegations of his activities. Supporters of the Law and Justice organization argue that the provisions do indeed violate the rule of independency of the Constitutional Tribunal and require verification by the Constitutional Court.

Summary

The dispute surrounding the appointment of the president of the KRRiT before the Court of State and the actions of the PiS Members in this case indicate deep political and legal divisions in Poland. The resolution of the case by the Constitutional Court will be crucial for the future of the KRRiT and the independency of public institutions in Poland.

Political context and publication of TK Cases

Regardless of the course of the proceeding designated on 25 July and its outcome, it is almost certain that the judgement given by the Constitutional Tribunal will not be published in the authoritative diary of the Laws. To date, there has not been any publication of the decision of the Court of the Republic of Moldova given after 6 March 2024, that is to say, following the resolution of the Sejm concerning the recovery of the Court.

We remind you that the ruling composition of the Constitutional Tribunal, formed in the manner we have written about above, is devoid of the characteristics of the tribunal established by the Act, erstwhile it is composed of an unauthorised person. Consequently, any judgement given in a composition established in violation of the basic rule applicable to the selection of judges of the Constitutional Court infringes the essence of the right to a court established by the Act.

Daniel Głogowski

Expert in his field – Publicist, author and social activist. The first articles were published in 1999 for global publishers. For more than 30 years, he has gained his experience through cooperation with the largest editorial offices. In his articles, he seeks to address controversial topics and present first viewpoints that allowed for a deeper knowing of the issues discussed.