President Duda swears in new Constitutional Tribunal judges
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
03.12.2015 12:47
Four new Constitutional Tribunal judges have been sworn in by Polish President Andrzej Duda, just hours following a voting in the Sejm late on Wednesday.
President Duda (L) swears in the new judges on Thursday morning. Photo: Presidential Chancellery
“On Thursday morning President Andrzej Duda swore in four newly elected judges of the Constitutional Tribunal: Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, Mariusz Muszyński and Piotr Pszczółkowski,” read a statement by the Presidential chancellery.
“This preserves the continuity of the work of the Tribunal,” said President Duda, stressing the importance of a pluralistic nature of this institution.
On Thursday, the Tribunal convened to rule on a decision by the former government to elect five judges to the Tribunal.
The Law and Justice (PiS) party, which won a majority the Sejm lower house of Polish parliament in the 25 October general elections had originally challenged the decision by the former government led by Civic Platform (PO). PiS later withdrew its complaint.
The Tribunal conveded on Thursday. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
“The selection of new judges by the Sejm on Wednesday was invalid, and these people are not judges,” said former Justice Minister Borys Budka, who testified in the hearing on Thursday.
The sitting on Thursday attracted significant media and public attention.
Members of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD) protested in front of the Tribunal building on Thursday. They were joined by opposition politicians.
The Tribunal hearing was adjourned and a verdict is expected at 2:00 pm on Thursday. (rg/rk)
A protester holds up a copy of the Polish constitution during a protest outside the Tribunal building on Thursday. Photo: PAP/Jakub Kamiński