WARSAW – Poland’s lawmakers on Friday voted to pass a new law on judicial accountability that the government hopes will meet European Union expectations and help free up billions of euros in pandemic recovery funds for the country.
Brussels suspended aid to Poland, saying the government’s policy of exercising control over the judiciary violated democratic principles. The EU has called for major changes before Poland can be granted access to the money.
The right-wing coalition government says the terms of the new law have been agreed with Brussels and should result in the release of more than €35 billion in EU grants and loans. Some of Poland’s previous changes did not go far enough for the EU.
But the justice minister, who introduced the measures to exercise political control over the judiciary, is resisting the changes and threatening the government’s future, and President Andrzej Duda says he was not consulted on the new law.
In addition, parliamentary elections are due in the autumn and polls indicate that the governing coalition could lose control of parliament. The government is therefore aiming for success in raising EU funds, which could increase its voter support.
The lower house of parliament voted 203 to 52 with 189 abstentions to approve the new law, a vote reflecting divisions within the ruling coalition and skepticism from the opposition.
The leader of an opposition agrarian party, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, was among those who abstained.
“This law does not restore the rule of law,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said ahead of the parliamentary vote. “This will only be possible if we (the opposition) win the elections. ”
“But if this bill is an opportunity for the release of European funds, then it’s really important,” he said.
Lewiatan Business Association chair Henryka Bochniarz noted that Poland desperately needs the EU funds for further development, but said the new draft law doesn’t really address the issues.
“We cannot agree to another pseudo-repair of the Polish court system, which is being worked on in Parliament, but which – according to legal experts – offers no guarantees of judicial independence, does not repair the system, but is only intended to pretend that it is works expectations of the European Commission,” Bochniarz said in a statement.
The new regulation shifts the split disciplinary proceedings against judges from the Supreme Court to the Main Administrative Court. They also increase the opportunities for parties in a court proceeding to review the independence and authority of the judiciary. Duda, whose powers include appointing judges, has said he will not accept any provisions that undermine the appointment of judges.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the EU would be happy with the changes, but a European Commission spokesman told Polish state news agency PAP that the law was an important step towards meeting EU criteria.
“We will continue to closely monitor the next steps of the ongoing adoption process and then review the final adopted law,” Christian Wigand told PAP.
The new law now goes to the opposition-controlled Senate for review and then requires Duda’s approval.
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