Venice Commission adopts opinion on judges’ oaths in Poland — Interia

On October 9, the Venice Commission adopted an opinion on the powers of Poland’s president to receive the oath of Constitutional Tribunal judges and make other appointments. The content of the document has not yet been disclosed; it is expected to be published at the beginning of next week, Interia reports.

Participants in the meeting

The meeting of the Council of Europe body on constitutional law was attended by Professor of Constitutional Law Dariusz Dudek, an adviser to Polish President Karol Nawrocki, as well as Daniel Kędzierski from the Chancellery of the Sejm. The request to prepare the opinion was submitted by the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Dudek stated that representatives of the presidential circle highly appreciate the efforts of the Venice Commission, but do not agree with all provisions of the adopted document. According to him, resolving the problems surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal requires a systemic, legislative and personnel solution.

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Dispute surrounding the tribunal

The president’s representative also stated that Karol Nawrocki had never formally refused to receive the oaths of newly elected judges. At the same time, according to the outlet, the president did not receive the oaths of five Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by the Sejm, without announcing a formal refusal.

Four of the six judges elected by the Sejm in March were not allowed to hear cases at the Constitutional Tribunal. They took their oaths during a ceremony at the Sejm, using the wording “before the president,” but this was not recognized, among others, by the tribunal’s chairman, Bogdan Święczkowski.

Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the failure to receive the oaths of four judges and their exclusion from hearing cases at the tribunal. Separately, there is still no decision regarding the oath of Maciej Berek, whom the Sejm elected as a Constitutional Tribunal judge in early September. The head of the Chancellery of the President of Poland, Zbigniew Bogucki, explained this by formal shortcomings in the candidacy; according to the presidential chancellery’s position, Berek did not confirm the required experience as a legal adviser.