2020-03-17
FOR Communication 7/2020: Election of the First President of the Supreme Court - a new problem for Polish democracy?
Summary:
- The General Assembly of Supreme Court Judges will be held on 31 March 2020. The judges will then probably select five candidates for the new First President of the Supreme Court. From this group, the President of the Republic of Poland will eventually appoint the new First President of the Supreme Court. Initially, the General Assembly was to be held on 17 March and was postponed due to the epidemiological outbreak [1].
- The term of office of the current First President of the Supreme Court - Professor Małgorzata Gersdorf ends on 30 April 2020.
- The First President of the Supreme Court is a symbolic representative of the third power - the judiciary.
- Pursuant to Article 183(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the First President of the Supreme Court is appointed by the President of the Republic of Poland for a six-year term of office from among candidates presented by the General Assembly of Supreme Court Judges.
- All it takes is one name supported by the ruling majority to have a real chance of being appointed by the President.
- The so-called Muzzle Act introduced Article 13a to the Supreme Court Act, which gave the President of the Republic of Poland additional power to elect the acting First President of the Supreme Court in the event that the candidates presented were elected, in the opinion of the President of the Republic of Poland, against the regulations.
- The First President of the Supreme Court has a great influence on the functioning of the Supreme Court, but also, and perhaps above all, on the positions taken by the Supreme Court in current legal cases. If a person associated with the legislative or executive power takes up a position, the separation of powers will be further undermined and political influence on the judiciary will increase.
[1] Full text of the communication from the Supreme Court: http://www.sn.pl/aktualnosci/SiteAssets/Lists/Wydarzenia/AllItems/Zarz_PPSN_27_2020%20-%20zagrożenie%20epidemiologiczne.pdf
Author:
Eliza Rutynowska, Lawyer
eliza.rutynowska@for.org.pl
