The Council of Europe said Friday that reforms to Poland's constitutional court would undermine democracy and the rule of law in the country.
The right-leaning Law and Justice (PiS) government introduced the reforms in December, and they were immediately slammed by critics as a threat to judicial independence and have sparked street protests.
The Polish court itself struck down the reforms on Wednesday, creating a constitutional crisis as the government has refused to abide by that judgement.
The Council of Europe -- an international rights body which works closely with the European Union -- said the court was entitled to "examine these amendments without applying them in this case."
The Venice Commission -- a body of legal experts within the Council of Europe -- said the government's refusal to publish the judgement "would further deepen the constitutional crisis in Poland."
The reforms changed the bar for the court's rulings from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority, while requiring 13 judges to be present for the most contentious cases, instead of nine previously.
The Venice Commission said these changes would make it "impossible to deal with urgent cases (and) would have made the Tribunal ineffective. Therefore these amendments would have endangered not only the rule of law but also the functioning of the democratic system."
The Polish government, which has drawn criticism at home and abroad over several controversial laws since coming to power in October, has already said it would not recognise the ruling.
Poland's deputy foreign minister Konrad Szymanski, who has responsibility for EU affairs, told Polish media that the ruling was "a missed opportunity."
"The Venice Commission could have played a role in facilitating a solution of the constitutional crisis in Poland.
"This opinion will only strengthen the opposition's conviction that this issue can be solved through the interference of international or European organisations," he added.
Although the Council of Europe's findings are not binding, the EU is likely to review them as part of its own unprecedented probe into the rule of law in Poland that was launched in January.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said before the ruling that it "was not a verdict".
"An opinion is an opinion, we'll seek other opinions, we'll present our own opinions. We'll pursue dialogue. Nothing will happen, this isn't the end of the world," he added.
The Council of Europe said Friday that reforms to Poland’s constitutional court would undermine democracy and the rule of law in the country.
The right-leaning Law and Justice (PiS) government introduced the reforms in December, and they were immediately slammed by critics as a threat to judicial independence and have sparked street protests.
The Polish court itself struck down the reforms on Wednesday, creating a constitutional crisis as the government has refused to abide by that judgement.
The Council of Europe — an international rights body which works closely with the European Union — said the court was entitled to “examine these amendments without applying them in this case.”
The Venice Commission — a body of legal experts within the Council of Europe — said the government’s refusal to publish the judgement “would further deepen the constitutional crisis in Poland.”
The reforms changed the bar for the court’s rulings from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority, while requiring 13 judges to be present for the most contentious cases, instead of nine previously.
The Venice Commission said these changes would make it “impossible to deal with urgent cases (and) would have made the Tribunal ineffective. Therefore these amendments would have endangered not only the rule of law but also the functioning of the democratic system.”
The Polish government, which has drawn criticism at home and abroad over several controversial laws since coming to power in October, has already said it would not recognise the ruling.
Poland’s deputy foreign minister Konrad Szymanski, who has responsibility for EU affairs, told Polish media that the ruling was “a missed opportunity.”
“The Venice Commission could have played a role in facilitating a solution of the constitutional crisis in Poland.
“This opinion will only strengthen the opposition’s conviction that this issue can be solved through the interference of international or European organisations,” he added.
Although the Council of Europe’s findings are not binding, the EU is likely to review them as part of its own unprecedented probe into the rule of law in Poland that was launched in January.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said before the ruling that it “was not a verdict”.
“An opinion is an opinion, we’ll seek other opinions, we’ll present our own opinions. We’ll pursue dialogue. Nothing will happen, this isn’t the end of the world,” he added.
