Poland approves controversial judges to constitutional court
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Poland’s parliament elected three ruling party nominees as judges to the constitutional court, including two widely denounced by opposition lawmakers, raising concerns about the court’s independence.
Parliament voted the judges in late Thursday during a heated session that included calls of “Disgrace!” by opposition lawmakers. The president must still swear them in. The Constitutional Tribunal’s responsibilities include ensuring that legislation conforms with the constitution.
The most disputed of the three judges is Stanislaw Piotrowicz, a former communist-era state prosecutor and the architect of laws pushed by the conservative ruling Law and Justice party over the past four years that the European Union says erode judicial independence. Piotrowicz lost his seat in parliament in October elections.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki defended Piotrowicz this week, saying he “behaved decently” with the cases he handled during the communist era. Piotrowicz has also faced criticism for appearing to protect a priest found guilty of sexual abuse of minors.
The other disputed nominee is Krystyna Pawlowicz, a jurist and former lawmaker whose hard-right rhetoric at one point prompted Law and Justice to say she would leave politics.
