By Kyumin Kang '18
Tensions in Poland related to the country’s ongoing constitutional crisis deepened as the country’s Constitutional Tribunal openly opposed a new law limiting its powers. Such conflict has spurred the actions of the EU and the US to demand democratic solutions from the current Polish government led by right-wing Law and Justice (PiS).Conflicts began last October when the previous government, whose loss to Law and Justice was imminent, named five judges to fill the Constitutional Tribunal which consists of 15 judges. At the time, there were three immediate vacancies. Once Law and Justice took over, the previous government’s appointment was refused and the newly ruling party named five judges of their own.Law and Justice made further changes to the Constitutional Tribunal later in December with an amendment that requires a two-thirds majority for a decision by the Tribunal to be binding. It also required the mandatory participation of 13 judges to such decision making instead of 9. This bill as a whole has been evaluated by outside parties to have decreased the powers of the Constitutional Tribunal.Due to the fact that Law and Justice currently has a parliamentary majority, the decreased power of the Tribunal has the potential to disrupt democratic checks and balances. This potential has already surfaced when the Polish government dismissed the Tribunal’s ruling that struck down the legislation as unconstitutional due to the fact that the Tribunal currently only has 12 sitting judges which is not enough to validate a ruling under the new amendment.The EU and the US have openly criticized the Polish government to respect the rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal. The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, sided with the Tribunal and there is a possibility that Poland could be stripped of its voting rights within the EU although it is not yet clear as to whether the EU will take such a strong stance.The Polish government has continuously protected its position, claiming that the aforementioned legislation does not violate the country’s constitution. President Andrzej Duda even made references to the recent death of US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and the existing conflict to appoint his predecessor. Calling this incident a “very similar situation” to what is going on in Poland, Duda also mentioned that the next US president should fill the vacancy.The firm stance of Duda and his government may aggravate diplomatic relations between Poland and the US and also weaken Poland’s position within the EU. Most recently, President Obama refused President Duda’s request for a meeting while the Polish President traveled to Washington for a security summit at the end of March. Such pressures from the US and increasing pressure from the EU may give Duda no choice but to compromise with the Constitutional Tribunal. Sourceshttp://www.politico.eu/article/poland-president-duda-cant-escape-judicial-questions-court-democracy-us-summit-nuclear-energy/http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/245301,It-is-for-Poles-to-decide-how-to-interpret-their-constitution-Rudolph-Giulianihttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-poland-taking-an-authoritarian-turn-its-new-president-explains/2016/03/24/f29e8830-f114-11e5-89c3-a647fcce95e0_story.htmlhttps://neurope.eu/article/us-putting-pressure-polands-ruling-party/http://www.wsj.com/articles/poland-needs-urgent-solution-to-constitutional-crisis-says-top-eu-official-1459947033http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/opinion/polands-constitutional-crisis.html?_r=0http://www.dw.com/en/poland-denies-presidential-snub-by-us/a-19151703http://www.dw.com/en/polands-constitutional-stand-off-deepens/a-19104534http://www.politico.eu/article/timmermans-ramps-up-pressure-in-poland-constitutional-crisis/http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/244861,Ruling-party-MP-denies-US-is-putting-pressure-on-Polandhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/world/europe/polish-court-strikes-down-law-limiting-its-powers-inflaming-a-crisis.html