Poland Senate backs court reforms amid controversies
Poland's Senate, the upper house of parliament, has approved contested reforms to the structure of the Constitutional Court despite protests at home and warnings by the European Union.
The bill, which was pushed through by the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), was passed in an overnight session on Thursday, with 58 votes for, 28 against and one abstention.
The bill still needs the signature of President Andrzej Duda to turn into legislation.
The lower house of the Polish parliament had adopted the measures on December 22.
Duda’s spokesman said on his Twitter account that the Polish president “will make a decision within the deadline set by the constitution," which is 21 days.
The new law introduces waits of three to six months between the time of a request for a ruling and a verdict, compared to two weeks currently.
It further makes it harder for the Constitutional Court to make decisions, by raising the bar from a simple majority to two-thirds and by increasing the quorum from nine out of 15 judges to 13.
Many have criticized the measures as an attempt to interfere with the independence of the Constitutional Court.
Earlier this week, Frans Timmermans, the European Commission vice president, sent a letter to Polish officials demanding that the reforms not be "finally adopted or put into force" until all questions about their effect "have been fully and properly assessed."
The European Commission "attaches great importance to preventing the emergence of situations whereby the rule of law in (a) member state could be called into question," the letter read.
Poland has been plunged into a political crisis by actions of the PiS since the party won an absolute majority in October elections.
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