Sejm passes amendment to Constitutional Tribunal bill
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
19.11.2015 18:19
An amendment to a bill related to Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal was passed late on Thursday by the Sejm lower house of parliament.
Opposition MPs leave the voting hall in protest against the bill. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell
As many as 268 MPs of the 460-seat house voted in favour of the amendment – all from the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party.
MPs from the opposition Civic Platform (PO), Nowoczesna (Modern) party, and the Polish People's Party (PSL) groupings left the hall for the time of the voting, meaning there were no votes against the amendment, and no abstentions.
Earlier, PO MPs announced that they would reject the draft, which provides for, among others, the re-election of five judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Three judges on the Tribunal had their terms expire in recent weeks, with two more seeing their terms expire in early December.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has not extended the terms of the rest of the Tribunal members.
The passed amendement will see five judges standing for reelection to the Tribunal.
“In 2005-2007 the Constitutional Tribunal was the most effective bulwark to the realisation of PiS's aims,” tweeted political analyst at SWPS University, Ben Stanley (@BDStanley). (rg/ss)