New Appointments to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal May Be Unconstitutional · Global Voices
A Polish National Assembly sitting on June 4th 2014. Photo by <PERSON>, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Several dozen people spontaneously gathered on Wednesday, November 25 in front of the Polish Parliament building, ignoring the late hour and below-zero temperature, to protest the latest resolution passed by Parliament during a special night sitting.
It wasn't the first time since the recent elections that an important decision was brought in a rush, during the night, making it impossible for either the public or the opposition to discuss the bill before it was put to the vote.
Twitter user <PERSON> wrote:
Jak tak dalej pójdzie, to trzeba będzie w porządku <PERSON> zmienić “porządek dzienny” na “porządki nocne”
— <PERSON> (@PiotrWitwicki) November 25, 2015
If all this is to go on, we should change Parliament's agenda from a daily agenda to a nightly one
The highly controversial resolution passed by the newly elected ruling party, Law and Justice, cancels the appointment of five judges to the Constitutional Tribunal, who had been appointed by the previous parliament. Many authorities on the country's constitution have gone as far as claiming that the new resolution is unconstitutional and, hence, illegal. This decision not only seems to ignore provisions of Poland's Constitution, but also breaks one of the oldest rules of any legal state — that laws cannot and should not be retroactively applied. 1017
What makes things even more complicated is the fact that such a decision could only be made null and void by the Constitutional Tribunal itself, if it were to discover the incompatibility between the act of choice itself, and the law on which it was based.
<PERSON> attached a video from the demonstration, saying:
<PERSON>… <PERSON>… https://t.co/3mbEmYYFx4
— <PERSON> (@DMarcin93) November 26, 2015
And so it begins…Quite fast…
<PERSON> wrote:
Pod Sejmem demonstracja ok. 40 osób….szybko ludzie mają dość.
— <PERSON> (@ArturGorczynski) November 25, 2015
Around 40 people gathered in front of the Parliament, people are getting fed up quite fast.
<PERSON> added:
Idę spać, trzymając kciuki za tych, co się zbierają pod sejmem.
— <PERSON> (<PERSON> November 26, 2015
I go to sleep keeping my fingers crossed for those in front of the Parliament.
Although the decision is mostly seen as unconstitutional, it has its supporters.
<PERSON> wrote:
<PERSON> pisze że pod Sejmem gromadzą się tłumy.. Są obecni <PERSON>,<PERSON> i rodziny tych którzy stracili posadki #ASZdziennik
— <PERSON> (@Sylwia2404) November 26, 2015
<PERSON> [another Twitter user] writes that crowds are gathering in front of the Parliament. The only ones present were <PERSON>, <PERSON> and families of those who have just lost their cushy jobs
Many people seem to think the protest is temporary, doubting the ability of citizens to get politically involved.
<PERSON> asked:
Dzisiejsze wydarzenia na trawniku pod sejmem i w sejmie (nie wiem ocb) będą miały jakiś wpływ na życie szaraka czy to zwykłe pierdolamento?
— <PERSON> (@maciek90legia) November 26, 2015
So as for tonight's events both on the lawn in front of the Parliament and in the Parliament itself (I have no clue what's going on) are they going to influence an average guy or is it just bullshit?
<PERSON> wrote:
Już kiedyś PO zwołało protest, ba, całe miasteczko pod sejmem. Trwało dzielnie do pierwszej kropli deszczu. 1017