Friday, May 7, 2021
Duda did not take oath of judges
Strasbourg condemns judicial reform in Poland
The European Human Rights Court declared the occupation of the Polish Constitutional Court by the Piss Party illegal. In this way, a company is right that is not heard by the judges of Poland. It should also get compensation.
Poland has violated the right to a fair trial by appointing its Constitutional Court abiding by human rights by the European Constitutional Court. The panel of judges negotiating a company’s case was not legally constituted, the Strasbourg-based court decided. There were irregularities in the appointment of judges as a clear violation of national law. The core of the proceedings is a dispute over the occupation of the Polish Constitutional Court for years.
With the possibility of losing the 2015 parliamentary election, Poland’s then liberal-conservative government nominated three new judges for the last-term vacancies. In addition, it nominated two more constitutional judges for future vacancies, although this was in fact the task of the new parliament. After the national conservative PYS won the election, all five nominations were declared invalid and filled positions with their candidates. President Andreas Duda, who comes from the ranks of the PAS, refused to take the oath of office from the three judges, who were previously nominated by the liberal-conservative government for vacancies. Instead, Duda was sworn in among five PiS candidates.
The Chair of the Constitutional Court, Julia Przelebska, who is close to the PES, criticized the Strasbourg judges’ decision. The court rendered its decision without legal basis and outside its powers. Therefore, the ruling is of no consequence to the Polish legal system, said Przylebska of the PAP news agency.
Homeopathic compensation for business
A company brought an action before the court in Strasbourg. It had previously filed a constitutional complaint about a law in Poland, which was declared unacceptable by the constitutional judges there with three to two votes. In this context, the Strasbourg court has now criticized the process “in the appointment of one of the judges sitting on the bench in the case of the plaintiff company”.
Poland was therefore convicted of violation of “the right to a fair trial”. European judges found that Polish courts failed to respond to the company’s pleas. Warsaw is said to pay compensation of around 3400 euros to the company.
