WARSAW, Poland -- Poland's right-wing governing party is pressing ahead with sweeping new legislation to tighten controls over judges, despite concerns from European Union officials that it would undermine the independence of the judiciary and the country's democracy.
The draft legislation aims to prevent judges from questioning the independence of peers nominated by a council controlled by the governing party -- appointments that, up until about two years ago, used to be made by other judges. It also seeks to punish judges who criticize the government's campaign to overhaul the judiciary or who engage in "political activities," without specifically spelling out what constitutes such activity.
The governing Law and Justice party swept to power in 2015 with a message of national pride steeped in anti-immigrant sentiment and skepticism of the EU. It has since made reshaping the courts the center of its political agenda.
On Wednesday, Poles protested in about 160 cities across the country to vent their anger over the proposed legislation and to press lawmakers to abandon it.
Poland's Supreme Court warned that the legislation could pave the way for the country's exit from the EU.
While such an exit seems unlikely, the European Commission took the unusual step Thursday of calling on the Polish parliament, president and prime minister to halt all proceedings and consult the Venice Commission -- a panel of European constitutional law experts -- about the legislation.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned Friday that the legislation "risks further undermining the already heavily challenged independence of the judiciary in Poland."
Despite those appeals and warnings, Poland's lawmakers continued to work swiftly on the legislation all through the night Thursday. The Sejm, the lower house of parliament, approved it in a vote Friday.
The bill will now proceed to the Senate, where the opposition holds a small majority. But even if the upper house rejects the bill, then the draft will go back to the Sejm, which is controlled by the Law and Justice party and has the power to make it a law if it passes in a second vote.
As lawmakers were introducing the legislation, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party, said that the proposed regulations were necessary because the judiciary in Poland is in a state of "chaos."
"I hope that this project will stop the justice system from blowing up," Kaczynski said in an interview with the Polish Press Agency. "Judges actually do not bear the consequences of even their most unlawful and harmful actions. This is a sick system, and it is obvious that it cannot work well. Authorities must be responsible. If they are not, then they are evil."
European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, warned in Brussels on Monday that the rule of law in Poland was being eroded, adding that the EU was prepared to do everything in its power to defend the independence of Poland's judiciary.
A Section on 12/22/2019