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Venice Commission begins talks to investigate changes in Polish constitutional tribunal

Xinhua, February 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Commission on Monday began a two-day series of meetings here to scrutinize legal chances to Polish constitutional tribunal law.

During the two-day visit, delegates of the so-called Venice Commission will hold meetings with authorities and judicial bodies, including Polish President Andrzej Duda and Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro.

The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990.

The Commission's representatives include Venice Commission president Gianni Buquicchio from Italy, head of Constitutional Justice Division Schnutz Rudolf Duerr from Austria, and Venice Commission members Christoph Grabenwarter from Austria and Jean-Claude Scholsem from Belgium.

The Commission was invited for discussions by the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski on Dec. 23 2015, due to controversies over legal changes in Polish constitutional tribunal law.

The Commission's opinion on the matter will be discussed during a plenary session on March 11 and 12.

The changes into constitutional tribunal law in Poland were a matter of interest for the European Commission. Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President of the European Commission, in mid-January said his office launched an increased scrutiny of the Polish decisions concerning the constitutional tribunal.

The controversial law was passed by the Polish parliament on Dec. 22, 2015 after a heated discussion and adopted by the senate without any amendments suggested by the opposition. The president signed the bill into law on Dec. 28, 2015.

The amendment requires the court to adopt most of its rulings by a two-third margin, which could force the court to include five judges chosen by the ruling Law and Justice party, or leave the court unable to pass ruling, which, according to critics, will result in paralyzing the highest judicial organ and making it reliant on the government.

On Tuesday, Venice Commission representatives will hold a meeting in the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional Tribunal, and with the Ombudsman. A meeting with NGOs is included in the schedule as well. Enditem