On October 31, the Ordo Iuris Institute, together with ten other civil society organizations, issued a joint statement on the events surrounding Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal. Other organizations can also sign the statement on the website obronic-trybunal-ngo.pl.
As the signatories point out, on the night of October 30, while the President of the Republic of Poland was abroad, police units enabled the takeover of the Tribunal’s building by persons elected as judges by the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, who had not taken the oath of office required by law. Meanwhile, the President and Vice-President of the Tribunal, its lawful judges, its staff and the Tribunal Guard were barred from entering the building. Among those present in the building is Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who, by her own signature, granted herself the right to “substitute” for the President of the Constitutional Tribunal. According to the legal organizations, such a document is a non-existent act, and the entire operation constitutes a forcible incursion by the executive branch into the domain of the judiciary, in violation of Articles 7, 10 and 173 of the Constitution. The signatories demand, among other things, the immediate withdrawal of the police from the Tribunal’s premises, the disclosure of the orders under which the operation was carried out, and the initiation of criminal proceedings. They also call on police officers to refuse to take part in violating the Constitution and pledge legal assistance to those who face harassment as a result. The statement is open: any non-governmental organization that cares about the rule of law can sign it on the website obronic-trybunal-ngo.pl.
Source of cover photo: iStock
