Poland’s Ruling Party Rushes Top-Court Revamp Before NATO Summit

(Bloomberg) -- Poland's ruling party overhauled the Constitutional Tribunal in a rushed attempt to quiet the country's biggest-ever row with the European Union before leaders of the NATO military alliance arrive in Warsaw.

A new law governing the top court was approved by the lower house of parliament after two nights of stormy debate, and hours before U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders arrive for a NATO summit in the Polish capital. The new law falls short of meeting recommendations from the EU's executive and the Venice Commission and compromises the court's ability for an effective and timely review legislation, according to the country's ombudsman, the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland as well as most opposition lawmakers.

“It's a mockery,” Borys Budka, a former justice minister from the opposition Civic Platform party, told public radio's Channel 1 on Thursday. “The new rules still don't resolve any of the issues around the Tribunal.”

Poland has fallen out with its allies in Brussels and Washington amid concern it's backsliding on democratic values and sidelining the top court, accusations the government rejects. The ruling party is moving ahead with the legislation after the EU told Poland last month to take action to ensure that rule-of-law is not undermined and after S&P Global Ratings handed the country it's first-ever credit-rating downgrade, citing concern over the independence of key institutions.

‘Constructive Solutions'

The rapid work on the legislation is aimed at ending the conflict over the tribunal, Premier Beata Szydlo said Wednesday, responding to criticism that constitutional matters shouldn't be dealt with in a rushed manner.

“I'm keeping my word given to the EU, we are seeking constructive solutions,” Szydlo told reporters. “All of us, including the opposition, should strive to end the conflict and that's why we have to pass this draft.”

Some earlier proposals of the ruling Law & Justice party, including giving the prosecutor general and the president the right to define cases that require additional justices to take part in rulings, were dropped in the legislation. Nevertheless, the new rules still give the executive branch new tools of influence over the judiciary panel, which may further undermine the division of power written into Poland's constitution.

The overhaul forces the panel to assess laws chronologically, rather than in the order based on their importance, and enables a minority of the judges to delay a ruling by up to six months. Meanwhile, it doesn't address EU concerns such as the government's failure to implement the Tribunal's March 9 ruling that struck down its previous revamp and President Andrzej Duda's refusal to swear in three justices who were lawfully picked by the previous parliament.

“Are you doing this law only as a welcoming gift for President Obama?” opposition lawmaker Monika Rosa asked parliament on Thursday, a day before Duda holds talks with his U.S. counterpart on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw at mstrzelecki1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Wojciech Moskwa, Paul Abelsky