| Series Title | Radio Poland |
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| Series Details | 09.03.16 |
| Publication Date | 09/03/2016 |
| Content Type | News |
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Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled on the 9 March 2016 that a series of controversial changes to the way it functioned – introduced by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in December 2015 were unconstitutional. Radio Poland reported that protesters in favour of the Constitutional Tribunal projected passages from the ruling onto the walls of the prime minister's office following the ruling, and that government and opposition politicians hurled accusations at each other. The Council of Europe's Venice Commission was due to release a report assessing the situation around the Constitutional Tribunal on the 11 March 2016. A copy of the draft opinion of the Venice Commission was leaked to the media at the end of February 2016. This suggested that the country’s radical changes to Constitutional Tribunal threatened democratic norms. The Venice Commission adopted an opinion on the 11 March 2016 on amendments to the law on Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal. It concluded that crippling the Tribunal’s effectiveness would undermine democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The opinion insisted that both previous and present majorities of the Polish parliament (Sejm) had taken unconstitutional actions. In term, the report of the Venice Commission was likely to influence the European Commission, which in January 2016 launched an investigation into Poland’s judicial reforms. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said on the 11 March 2016 that he would visit Poland in early April 2016. He added that the opinion adopted by the Venice Commission was the basis for holding a dialogue with Warsaw. Thousands marched in Warsaw and other Polish cities on the 12 March 2016 in defence of the Constitutional Tribunal. The demonstrations followed the Polish government's confirmation on the 12 March 2016 that it would not publish the 9 March 2016 key ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal, despite being urged to do so by Council of Europe's Venice Commission on the 11 March 2016. |
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| Source Link | http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/243953,Poland%E2%80%99s-Constitutional-Tribunal-rules-against-swathe-of-legal-changes |
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| Countries / Regions | Poland |
