The selection of six nominees for judges of the Constitutional Tribunal has sparked outrage within the legal community. Attorney Łukasz Bernaciński from the Ordo Iuris pointed out that among the nominees there are no law professors, constitutional law experts, or judges from the highest courts. He also noted that some of the newly selected judges had previously been connected with codification commissions operating at the Ministry of Justice. “These individuals may, during their term, face the problem of ruling on the constitutionality of laws they themselves helped draft,” he wrote.
Attorney Łukasz Bernaciński drew attention to the group of six nominees for judges of the Constitutional Tribunal. In a post published on social media, he pointed out that among the nominated individuals there are no representatives of several legal circles that had often been represented in the Tribunal in the past.
As he noted, among the new judges there is not a single law professor, constitutional law scholar, or judge of the Supreme Court of Poland, the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland, or a court of appeal.
Bernaciński also pointed out that some of the selected individuals had previously been associated with codification commissions operating under the Ministry of Justice.
“Among the six selected there are, however, three members of the Ministry of Justice’s Codification Commissions, including the chairman of the Codification Commission for the System of Courts and the Prosecutor’s Office, appointed by ministers of the current government,” he wrote.
He added that this could lead in the future to situations in which judges would have to rule on provisions they had previously worked on.
“These individuals may, during their term, face the problem of ruling on the constitutionality of laws they themselves helped draft,” he indicated.
He concluded his post with a remark referring to the independence of the new nominees.
“That says it all about the independence and non-partisanship of the nominees,” Bernaciński wrote.
Other lawyers have also expressed outrage:
“Did I hear correctly that the Sejm elected to the @TK_GOV_PL a colleague of the Belarusian agent, former judge T. Szmydt from the Themis association? I wonder whether Szmydt’s acquaintance @Gasiuk_Pihowicz, who introduced him to the Sejm and met with him privately, lobbied for her? Or maybe Szmydt himself made the call?” Maciej Nawacki wrote.
“For the Sejm to so clearly and flagrantly violate its own Rules of Procedure when electing judges to the Constitutional Tribunal – and additionally in an unconstitutional manner – that is truly a world-class achievement. And this is not about the timing of the election,” Kamil Zaradkiewicz wrote.