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Poland’s President Vetoes 2 Proposed Laws Limiting Courts’ Independence Poland’s President Vetoes 2 Proposed Laws Limiting Courts’ Independence
(about 9 hours later)
WARSAW — Following tumultuous protests, and warnings from the European Union, Poland’s president vetoed two proposed laws on Monday that would have given the right-wing governing party direct control of the judiciary. WARSAW — Andrzej Duda was a relatively obscure member of the right-wing Law and Justice party when the leader of the party and the most powerful man in the country plucked him from the chorus line to become its candidate for president in 2015. For most of the party’s first 20 months in power, he was a reliable proponent for the governing party’s nationalist initiatives.
Poles denouncing the laws as a retreat from democratic norms had taken to the streets by the tens of thousands, and the European Union, which Poland joined in 2004, had warned Warsaw that adopting the laws — which the bloc’s officials called a threat to judicial independence and the rule of law — could result in legal sanctions. On Monday, President Duda defied his patron, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and vetoed two bills aimed at placing Polish courts firmly under political control.
Nonetheless, the decision by the president, Andrzej Duda, was unexpected. He was elected in May 2015 as the handpicked candidate of the right-wing Law and Justice Party, which won parliamentary elections later that year, and until now has been a steadfast ally of the government, though there have been rumors of a rift between Mr. Duda and the party’s leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. “It seems that the reality inside the ruling camp is more complex than we might think,” said Rafal Chwedoruk, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency.
“I feel that the reform in this shape will not increase the sense of security and justice,” Mr. Duda said at a news conference before meetings with leaders of the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary. There were already whispers of growing friction between the two leaders, an apparent schism that reflects a broader divide that has split Poland. The country was once in the vanguard of the democratic change that swept the region after the collapse of Communism. But it has steadily moved toward light authoritarianism and strident nationalism under Law and Justice, which has systematically dismantled much of that progress.
The two proposed laws he vetoed — one that would have forced the resignation of all Supreme Court justices, with their replacements to be selected by the justice minister, and another that would have given government-appointed members effective veto power in the council, which selects judicial candidates — will be sent back to Parliament. Mr. Duda urged lawmakers to rewrite them within two months. Law and Justice officials, seemingly blindsided by the vetoes, retreated to Mr. Kaczynski’s office in the party headquarters to discuss ways forward. In a speech to the nation, Beata Szydlo, the prime minister, defended the legislation and insisted the party would not give up.
Parliament has the power to override the vetoes, but doing so would require the agreement of 60 percent of lawmakers — a threshold that the governing Law and Justice Party, which has only a thin majority, could not meet without support from other parties. “The president’s veto has slowed down the proceedings on reform,” Ms. Szydlo said. “But we will not back down from the path of repairing the state. We will not give into pressures.”
Later in the morning, Mr. Duda said that he would sign a third bill, which reorganizes Poland’s local judiciary, giving the justice minister the power to select the heads of the local courts and — in certain cases — even to direct judges to particular cases. Exactly how the party will proceed — whether it will seek to overturn the president’s veto, or come up with fresh legislation — she did not say.
What was unclear on Monday was whether the Law and Justice Party would take the issue off the front burner, at least for the moment, and whether the veto exposed a rift between Mr. Duda and Mr. Kaczynski. Since assuming power, Law and Justice has drawn growing criticism from European Union officials and political opponents for a series of initiatives that, step by step, have placed formerly independent institutions more firmly under ruling party control. Warnings from Brussels were met with defiance and counter-warnings to stay out of Poland’s domestic politics.
Marcin Zaborowski, a senior associate with Visegrad Insight, a foreign policy journal, said there were two possible explanations for the vetoes: Either Mr. Duda “is regaining his own voice,” or this was “a negotiated solution” since the party will at least gain control over the local courts. Mr. Duda’s move came after several days of dire warnings from the union that passing the laws could result in legal action, even sanctions — as well as after growing street protests.
Governing party officials seemed genuinely upset with the vetoes, as they huddled at the party’s headquarters to frame their response. One of the laws he vetoed would have forced the resignation of all Supreme Court justices, with their replacements to be selected by the justice minister. The other would have given government-appointed members effective veto power in the National Council of the Judiciary, which selects judicial candidates. Both will be sent back to Parliament.
Parliament has the power to override the vetoes, but doing so would require the agreement of 60 percent of lawmakers — a threshold that the Law and Justice Party, which has only a thin majority, could not meet without support from other parties.
No such partners stepped forward Monday. Pawel Kukiz, a pop star who formed his own political party and was considered the likeliest to side with Law and Justice, posted praise for President Duda on his Facebook page.
In a televised address Monday evening, President Duda said he intended to produce his own version of the bills because he agreed with the government that changes to the courts were needed.
“Without the reform of the justice system, there is no possibility of building a just state,” he said. “The bills prepared by the parliament largely met these goals, however I couldn’t sign them.”
Mr. Duda said he was troubled by the provisions that gave the country’s chief prosecutor and justice minister power over the choice of high court justices. He was also upset that the bill was pressed through Parliament without being presented to his office for consultations.
“Poland needs reform of the judiciary,” Mr. Duda said, “but I am a supporter of a wise reform.”
A practicing Catholic and former Boy Scout with a cherubic smile and an upbeat demeanor, President Duda, 45, went along with the government’s earlier initiatives, like one asserting control over the Constitutional Tribunal, which rules on the constitutionality of new legislation and is now dominated by government supporters. Another placed supporters in control of government-owned media.
The president came under heavy fire for pardoning a party official whose appeal on abuse of power charges was still working its way through the courts. The official, Mariusz Kaminski, was then put in charge of the country’s secret services.
But the latest moves against the courts were apparently a step too far for the president.
“I feel that the reform in this shape will not increase the sense of security and justice,” Mr. Duda said at the news conference.
Mr. Duda said he would sign a third bill, which reorganizes Poland’s local judiciary. It would give the justice minister the power to select the heads of the local courts and — in certain cases — even to direct judges to particular cases. Although protesters and political opponents praised the president’s vetoes, they said they would continue their campaign until the third bill is vetoed, as well.
The president is a fresher and more telegenic personality than Mr. Kaczynski, now 68, a dour figure who lives alone with his cat in a modest house in north Warsaw and prefers to govern from behind the scenes.
Mr. Duda, the son of teachers, was a studious young man in his native Krakow. He earned a law degree at Jagiellonian University in Krakow and joined its faculty, becoming chairman of its administrative law division.
In the early 2000s, he was a member of the centrist Freedom Union Party, which supported liberal democratic policies and Western-style free market reforms. But by 2005, when he started his own law firm, his conservatism and Catholicism drew him to Law and Justice, which that year won power in parliamentary elections.
He was never a major figure in the party, first acting as a legal adviser, then as a deputy minister in the Justice Ministry and as a legal aide to Mr. Kaczynski’s twin brother, former president Lech Kaczynski, who died in a 2010 plane crash. For a few months, he was the party’s press spokesman. He lost a race for Parliament in 2007, though got in a few years later, and finished third for mayor of Krakow in 2010.
By late 2014, when Mr. Kaczynski choose him as president, Mr. Duda was representing the party in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
As the day dragged on, it became clearer that Mr. Kaczynski and the party’s leaders were genuinely surprised and upset with the president’s move.
Mr. Kaczynski will “never forgive” the president, said Mariusz Witczak, a lawmaker from Civil Platform, the leading opposition party.Mr. Kaczynski will “never forgive” the president, said Mariusz Witczak, a lawmaker from Civil Platform, the leading opposition party.
Other opposition leaders agreed.
“I believe this is the beginning of a conflict within the ruling camp,” said Krzysztof Gawkowski, secretary general of the Democratic Left Alliance, a small opposition party. “For now, it’s hard to say how far Andrzej Duda’s independence will go.”“I believe this is the beginning of a conflict within the ruling camp,” said Krzysztof Gawkowski, secretary general of the Democratic Left Alliance, a small opposition party. “For now, it’s hard to say how far Andrzej Duda’s independence will go.”
Andrzej Halicki, a lawmaker from Civic Platform, also predicted a period of conflict.
“Politically, we can see a test of strength is starting between the presidential palace and Law and Justice,” Mr. Halicki said.
Mr. Duda, 45, was selected by Mr. Kaczynski, 68, as the Law and Justice Party’s presidential candidate, though he left the party to serve as an independent when he assumed office in August 2015.
Since Law and Justice took power in October 2015, Mr. Duda has been a reliable backer of the government’s initiatives.
Pawel Kukiz, a Polish pop star who formed his own political party, which was seen as the likeliest faction to side with Law and Justice on the issue, wrote on his Facebook page on Monday, “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Opposition leaders welcomed the news of the vetoes, but added that pressure on the government was still needed.
“The situation is fresh,” Mr. Halicki said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Lech Walesa, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who led the Solidarity movement that toppled communism a quarter-century ago, called the decision “difficult and courageous.”Lech Walesa, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who led the Solidarity movement that toppled communism a quarter-century ago, called the decision “difficult and courageous.”
Mr. Walesa, who served as the first president after communism, and who has feuded with Mr. Kaczynski since the 1990s, said he was “positively surprised,” adding that he believed Mr. Duda was “beginning to feel like a president.”Mr. Walesa, who served as the first president after communism, and who has feuded with Mr. Kaczynski since the 1990s, said he was “positively surprised,” adding that he believed Mr. Duda was “beginning to feel like a president.”
But Mr. Walesa called on protesters not to slacken their efforts. “What’s comforting is that the nation is waking up, that the youth are waking up,” he said. “Don’t stop protesting!”But Mr. Walesa called on protesters not to slacken their efforts. “What’s comforting is that the nation is waking up, that the youth are waking up,” he said. “Don’t stop protesting!”
On Monday, the Nationwide Women’s Strike — a group that brought tens of thousands into the streets late last year in a successful effort to get the government to rescind a bill outlawing all abortions — gave Mr. Duda 48 hours to veto the third bill on local courts, warning of “civil disobedience on an unprecedented scale” if he failed to do so.On Monday, the Nationwide Women’s Strike — a group that brought tens of thousands into the streets late last year in a successful effort to get the government to rescind a bill outlawing all abortions — gave Mr. Duda 48 hours to veto the third bill on local courts, warning of “civil disobedience on an unprecedented scale” if he failed to do so.
President Trump visited Poland earlier this month and lavished praise on its government, without addressing the concerns of democracy advocates. “
However, the State Department warned on Friday that “the Polish government has continued to pursue legislation that appears to undermine judicial independence and weaken the rule of law in Poland.” At Monday’s news conference, Mr. Duda said he had spent the weekend consulting with analysts, historians, philosophers, legal scholars and others, but was most struck by a discussion he had with Zofia Romaszewska, a veteran anti-communist activist who is a supporter of the government.
About 200 people gathered outside the presidential palace Monday morning, and they reacted jubilantly to the news of the vetoes.
Katarzyna Lubnauer, a member of Parliament for the opposition Modern Party, said critics of the proposed bills were willing to work with the governing party to craft legislation to overhaul the courts, in which cases often languish. But she cautioned against moving too quickly.
“Wide-ranging talks are needed, wide-ranging consultations and not a fast legislative process,” she said.
Mr. Duda said he was troubled by provisions that gave the country’s chief prosecutor and justice minister power over the choice of high court justices. He was also upset that the bill was pressed through Parliament without being presented to his office for consultations.
“Poland needs reform of the judiciary,” Mr. Duda said, “but I am a supporter of a wise reform.”
Mr. Duda said he had spent the weekend consulting with analysts, historians, philosophers, legal scholars and others, but was most struck by a discussion he had with Zofia Romaszewska, a veteran anti-communist activist who is a supporter of the government.
She “told me something which struck me most during the weekend,” Mr. Duda said. “She said, ‘Mr. President, I lived in a state where the general prosecutor could do virtually anything, and I wouldn’t like to come back to this state.’ ”She “told me something which struck me most during the weekend,” Mr. Duda said. “She said, ‘Mr. President, I lived in a state where the general prosecutor could do virtually anything, and I wouldn’t like to come back to this state.’ ”