New protests over judiciary reform

Thousands of Poles in different cities took to streets on weekend, after ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) MPs gave preliminary approval to bills which will give them the power to replace the country’s judges. Several thousand people in more than 100 cities protested the bills again on Friday night, although the demonstrations fell short of the mass summer rallies. The bill will now be debated in the Senate, from which it will go back to the lower chamber of parliament, and later needs to be signed by President Andrzej Duda, who authored the bill. In July, Duda unexpectedly vetoed PiS reform proposals following nationwide protests and warnings from Poland’s Western allies about the politicization of the courts. The changes were aimed at overhauling the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), which nominates judges, and the Supreme Court, which among other things, rules on the validity of elections. The veto raised questions about whether PiS would uphold its support for Duda in the next presidential election. In September the president made counter-proposals which still envisaged greater political control over the courts but to be exercised by the president and not by the justice minister, as well as parliament. A slightly amended version of the law is currently being discussed in Sejm. The details of the bill have not been yet revealed and should be known on Tuesday when discussions on it are expected to begin. According to insiders, the new deal would give parliament, the power to nominate judges with a three-fifths majority. If no agreement can be made, the candidates could be voted on again, and a simple majority would suffice. PiS doesn’t have the three-fifths majority but holds an absolute parliamentary one.