Andrzej Duda
Polish President Andrzej Duda vetoed two bills on the Supreme court, which caused protests in the country and criticism from the EU. This was reported in Twitter of the office of the President.
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KancelariaPrezydenta (@prezydentpl)
31 July 2017, 13:52
“In accordance with article 122, section 5 of the Constitution, the President Andrzej Duda sent the laws on the National judicial Council and the Supreme court for reconsideration of the Parliament”, — stated in the message.
In accordance with the provisions of one of the bills, the Parliament, the majority of which belongs to the ruling party, will have the opportunity to choose 15 of the 25 members of the National judicial Council. It is the body responsible for the appointment of judges and ensure the independence of justice. Another bill proposes strengthening the powers of the Minister of justice. In particular, he will be able to assign most chief justices of the country and at any time to remove them from office.
Duda has proposed several amendments to the document stipulating a restriction of the powers of the head of the Ministry of justice. However, the opposition continues to believe the changes are minor and contrary to the principle of separation of powers.
The European Commission in the case of the initial versions of the law threatened to deprive Warsaw of voting rights in the EU Council. The draft judicial reform has caused mass protests in the country. The largest demonstration was held in the Polish capital and has collected tens of thousands of people.