Poland slides further away from democracy

[Thanas]

Guardian

Poland's government carries through on threat to constitutional court

Hardline conservatives use numbers to push through widely condemned reforms that water down judges’ power to rule on legality of government policies

Poland’s ruling conservative party has passed a law that top legal and opposition figures say will paralyse the country’s highest legislative court and remove important checks on the government’s power.

Following an avalanche of criticism at home and abroad, the approval of the new law raises the bar for constitutional court rulings from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority, while requiring 13 judges to be present instead of nine previously for the most contentious cases.

The Law and Justice party (PiS), led by staunch conservative ex-premier Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has already plunged the country into a political crisis since being elected in October, partly over controversial nominations to the constitutional court.

It has attempted to install five judges of its own choosing in the 15-member court, and refuses to recognise judges who were appointed by the previous parliament when the liberal Civic Platform (PO) party was in power.

With PiS in control of both houses of parliament, the law passed easily, with 235 votes for and 181 against. Four lawmakers abstained.

Thousands of people demonstrated in Poland’s capital, Warsaw, and other cities ahead of the vote, accusing the conservative government of undermining democracy.

The European parliament chief, Martin Schulz, has compared the political situation in Poland to a “coup”. Poland’s prime minister, Beata Szydlo, demanded an apology.

Poland’s supreme court has said the new law interferes with the court’s independence and aims to hinder its proper functioning.

The law introduces obligatory waits of three to six months between the time a request for a ruling is made and a verdict, compared with two weeks currently.

This “presages huge potential delays and, in fact, the paralysis (of the court)”, the supreme court said in a written opinion.

The PiS’s Kaczynski – who is neither president nor prime minister but is widely thought to pull the strings in his party – has said he wants to break up the “band of cronies” who he claims make up the court.

He has accused it of trying to block government policies, including on family benefits and the retirement age.

The potatoes are attempting to rework the constitution. Much easier to do without a pesky constitutional court. This is complete BS of course, Europe's sixth most important nation is sliding into chaos right now.

[Guardsman Bass]

They're in the EU, so couldn't folks sue upwards to the European Court of Human Rights over it?

Fuck that government. They're also trying to do a ban on abortion with zero exceptions, including to save lives.

[Thanas]

They're in the EU, so couldn't folks sue upwards to the European Court of Human Rights over it?

No.

Why would a court be able to claim human rights anyway?

[K. A. Pital]

As much as I hate the Kach Bros and think they're worthless right-wing scum... Poland is a sovereign nation. I believe that this, regrettable as it is, could only pass due to the public support of the PiS morons.

[mr friendly guy]

The potatoes are attempting to rework the constitution. Much easier to do without a pesky constitutional court. This is complete BS of course, Europe's sixth most important nation is sliding into chaos right now.

Slightly off tangent, but if Poland is Europe's sixth most important nation, which are the nations above Poland and slightly below it in importance. Its just that Poland has never crossed my radar so to speak.

[Jub]

The potatoes are attempting to rework the constitution. Much easier to do without a pesky constitutional court. This is complete BS of course, Europe's sixth most important nation is sliding into chaos right now.

Slightly off tangent, but if Poland is Europe's sixth most important nation, which are the nations above Poland and slightly below it in importance. Its just that Poland has never crossed my radar so to speak.

If I had to guess Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands would be 4 of the five above it. Italy and Spain would also be guesses as nations close to it.

[K. A. Pital]

Why would Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Austria be less important than Poland, though? I'd bet Spain at least is much more important on many, many levels. You can fit either Spain or Italy above Poland, but not both.

[Jub]

Why would Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Austria be less important than Poland, though? I'd bet Spain at least is much more important on many, many levels. You can fit either Spain or Italy above Poland, but not both.

I'd guess that the measure is some combination of economy, military strength, and political clout, but I didn't make the list.

[K. A. Pital]

Poland has no colonial linguistic or economic legacy. That alone puts it straight below even the minor colonial powers of Europe. Alternatively, one could judge by population and economy, in which case it will fare much better, even though its political clout in EU and world politics is relatively small. I find it strange to ascribe a certain fixed rank to a nation, in any case.

[Thanas]

Slightly off tangent, but if Poland is Europe's sixth most important nation, which are the nations above Poland and slightly below it in importance. Its just that Poland has never crossed my radar so to speak.

My ranking is:

1. Germany
2. France
3. Britain
4. Italy
5. Spain
6. Poland
7. Netherlands
8. Austria
9. Belgium
10. Portugal


Poland is the sixth largest in population and land area, nr. 8 in terms of total economy and they are the gateway to the east for the European Union. Their émigrés are having a huge impact on several nations. They have one of the largest militaries and a lot of symbolic value for the EU as the downfall of the communist dictatorships and the liberation of Eastern Europe started here. Now one could rank the Netherlands higher as their culture is way more important and impactful than Polish culture but Poland right now seems to have more importance, or at least that is how I see it.

[FTeik]

Didn't the Liberal Civic Platform appoint those judges the PiS is trying to oust just right before they lost the election?

And I probably don't have to wonder, where all that public support is going to go, once the PiS has tweaked the Constitution so they can stay in power.

[jwl]

Er.. Isn't moving away from judges and towards elected officials a move towards more democray, not away from it?

[Tribble]

Er.. Isn't moving away from judges and towards elected officials a move towards more democray, not away from it?

If you believe that a government which has 50% + 1 of the seats should be allowed to pass whatever legislation it wants and should be allowed to act however it wants without any interference, then sure you could see this as a step towards democracy.

IMO democracy is about more than just majority rule: the separation of powers, the protection of minority rights and the rule of law are critical features in any real democratic system. IMO it's not really a democracy if the government cannot be held accountable for its actions and is free to ignore the constitution, or change it on a whim to suit its needs. An independent, impartial judicial system is a critical safeguard to keep a government in check.

This government is apparently trying to strip the judiciary of both its independence and impartiality, while also making it much more difficult for its actions to be subject to judicial review. That's pretty damn alarming if you ask me.

[Pelranius]

Has the PiS been taking lessons from the AKP?