WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Senate opened debate Friday on a polemical draft law that would dismiss current Supreme Court judges and let the president make new appointments and influence their work, with the chamber expected to vote to approve the bill during the day.
Earlier, a special Senate commission swiftly reviewed and approved the contentious bill, which critics say opens the door to political influence over the nation’s top court.
The Senate, which like the lower house is comfortably controlled by the ruling conservative Law and Justice party that drafted the bill, faced down opposition senators who demanded they explain why the commission rejected over 130 amendments they had proposed.
The commission’s late night session met as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Warsaw and other cities, demanding the bill’s repeal.
The content of the proposed law, and speed with which it was rushed through parliament has drawn condemnation from the European Union, Poland’s opposition and other critics.
Besides the power to appoint judges, the bill gives the president influence over them via regulatory power over the Supreme. It would also end the term of the court’s current judges, except those chosen by the president. Critics say this violates the nation’s Constitution.
The ruling party says the judiciary needs radical reform to become efficient and reliable.
Adopted by the lower house Thursday, the law now only awaits approval by the Senate before it can be promulgated into law by President Andrzej Duda. Himself a lawyer, Duda says the judiciary needs reform.
European Council head Donald Tusk, Poland’s former prime minister, has invited Duda to a dialogue to seek ways to end the impasse. He says that the proposed law contradicts EU values and is hurting Poland’s international image.
