Former presidents of the Constitutional Tribunal stated that the judges legally appointed by the Sejm took the necessary actions to restore the function and status of the Tribunal as an institution protecting civil rights and freedoms.
The signatories of the statement assessed that the Constitutional Tribunal has been in a deep crisis for over 10 years. According to them, adjudicating panels are composed of "faultily appointed" persons, bypassing judges elected in accordance with the law, and the activities of the Tribunal have been paralyzed due to the failure to convene the General Assembly of Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.
The statement also indicated that the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU regarding the restoration of the status of an independent and impartial institution to the Court have not been implemented.
According to the authors, this leads to restrictions on citizens' effective protection of their rights and freedoms and the possibility of using a constitutional complaint. Former presidents of the Constitutional Tribunal also assessed that the behavior of President Karol Nawrocki was not conducive to resolving the crisis. In their opinion, for many months, together with judge Bogdan Święczkowski, he has been blocking the possibility of judges elected by the Sejm taking office, and on Friday he made a "direct attempt to violate the autonomy of the constitutional court."
According to the authors of the statement, it is necessary to enable judges to carry out procedures provided for by law, including convening the General Assembly of Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.
There is no other way to end the constitutional crisis and restore the Constitutional Tribunal to society (...). Judges should be enabled to implement this intention and apply the necessary, legal procedures, including, above all, convening the General Assembly of Constitutional Tribunal judges and adopting resolutions on the Prosecutor General's requests to the Constitutional Tribunal to waive the immunity of judges Bogdan Święczkowski and Bartłomiej Sochański - wrote the signatories of the statement.
Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska - the head of the Constitutional Tribunal as the longest-serving judge - yesterday issued an order to convene the General Assembly of judges of the Constitutional Tribunal on Tuesday, November 3, among others. in order to adopt the Constitutional Tribunal's budget for 2027.
The crisis in the Constitutional Tribunal occurred after the suspension of the activities of the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, Bogdan Święczkowski, and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański, announced on Friday on the Constitutional Tribunal's website. The person in charge of the Tribunal's work was elected by the current Sejm, judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska. Due to these events, on Friday evening, President Nawrocki interrupted his flight to Senegal and arrived at the Constitutional Tribunal's headquarters at night.
The media published recordings showing his entry into the building and the dispute between the president's representatives and the judges of the Tribunal elected by the current Sejm. After leaving the Constitutional Tribunal, Nawrocki announced the calling of urgent consultations with the participation of parliamentary forces, arguing that the constitutional order had been violated. In turn, Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared that "restoring the rule of law is our duty."
Yesterday, talks were held at the Presidential Palace with some representatives of parliamentary clubs and groups.
In the evening, Prime Minister Donald Tusk delivered a speech, saying, among other things, that "the attack on the Constitutional Tribunal and its judges is another stage of the process of destroying the rule of law in Poland by PiS and presidents Andrzej Duda and Karol Nawrocki," and "the state must be strong and capable of enforcing justice."
