Poland’s parliament put on hold for several hours until 0900 a.m. local time on Wednesday a debate over the bill giving itself the power to appoint Supreme Court judges, amid opposition’s criticism that the law would politicize the judiciary.
Lawmakers from the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party and their coalition partners passed the bill in its first reading and moved immediately to the second and final reading, amid frequent opposition cries of “Shame!” and “Cowards!”.
Opposition deputies vowed to extend the all-day debate as long as possible into the night to delay the bill’s passage into law. They submitted number of amendments to the bill in order to achieve this.
But the debate almost moved out of control when PiS president Jaroslaw Kaczynski told the opposition: “I know you’re afraid of truth, but do not wipe away your treacherous muzzles with my brother’s name.”
Kaczynski’s twin-brother Lech died in a jet crash in Russia, along with 95 other passengers of the plane, mainly high-ranked Polish officials in 2010.
Finally the debate was put on hold.
“I propose to direct the bill to the justice and human rights panel. … I order a break until tomorrow, July 19, 0900,” lower house of parliament (Sejm) Deputy Speaker Joachim Brudzinski said.
Since winning an election in 2015, PiS has sought to increase the government’s influence over courts and prosecutors as well as state media, prompting the European Union to launch a review of the rule of law in one of its newest members.
PiS says the judicial reform is needed to make the courts accountable and ensure that state institutions serve all Poles, not just the “elites” that it portrays as the support base for the opposition.
“PiS … will carry out this reform to the end,” Prime Minister Beata Szydlo told the assembly.
Opposition parties say the bill violates the constitutional separation of powers and could potentially give the ruling party influence over election results through the Supreme Court that validates them – charges that PiS rejects.
President Andrzej Duda, who is backed by PiS and usually supports its legislation, said Poles were “not satisfied with how the justice system functions”.
