Poland’s ruling left-liberal government under Donald Tusk is “unlawful,” wrote Polish President Andrzej Duda in a letter sent to the participants of the conference “Quo vadis, Poland? In defense of the democratic rule of law,” which was organized at the Constitutional Tribunal.
n the letter, Duda pointed to the important role played by the Constitutional Tribunal in the country’s political system, while he also warned that “the number and importance of problems that deserve thorough and competent discussion are rapidly growing,” writes Do Rzeczy.
“We are currently witnessing an unprecedented, ruthless attack on the Constitutional Tribunal – posing a direct threat to the legal security of citizens, because questioning, failing to publish and failing to execute the Tribunal’s judgments has a devastating impact on the standards of protection of fundamental human rights in Poland,” he wrote.
The president recalled Article 190 section 1 of the Constitution, which clearly states that the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal have universally binding force and are final. At the same time, Duda pointed out that this provision does not negate the possibility of discussing and criticizing the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal.
“However, in a democratic state of law, no authority can usurp the right to recognize the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal as non-existent,” he added.
Duda called the actions of the current government, such as refusing to publish the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal, must be considered “unlawful, especially when the judgments directly concern the rights and freedoms of citizens.” In this context, he recalled the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal in the case of so-called early retirees, a judgment that was not published, which has prevented a large part of citizens from pursuing their rights.
“Those in power who fail to fulfill this obligation must answer the inevitable question about their true intentions in this situation: Do they really want to defend and strengthen the Republic of Poland as a democratic state of law, implementing the principles of social justice – or do they prefer to treat this constitutional principle as an empty slogan, as a tool for purely political polemics and propaganda manipulation?” Duda asked at the end of his letter.
