Lower-house Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty told a news conference that he had decided to hold broad consultations on the proposal and refer it to the Venice Commission, a panel of constitutional law experts of the human rights body Council of Europe.
“In the opinion of our lawyers, this draft violates judicial independence and the separation of powers,” Czarzasty said, adding that it includes provisions introducing prison sentences of up to 10 years for judges who refuse to sit on judicial panels.
Nawrocki on Thursday vetoed a key judicial reform package, escalating a long-running dispute over how judges and courts should be governed.
Nawrocki blocked two bills aimed at overhauling Poland’s judicial appointment system, rejecting government efforts to resolve the standoff over the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS).
He said on Thursday that he was submitting his own legislative proposal "to strengthen the rule of law and the right to a fair trial."
He said that his proposal was intended to counter what he described as unlawful attempts to challenge judicial appointments.
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek criticised the president’s proposal on Friday, calling it a "strange creation" and "not just a muzzle, but a leash for Polish judges.”
Żurek said the bill provides for prison terms ranging from six months to 10 years for judges who comply with EU top court rulings.
“This is unprecedented. It would take us back to the Middle Ages,” Żurek said, adding that adopting such legislation would effectively force Poland to leave the EU.
Deputy Justice Minister Dariusz Mazur described the proposal as “extremely unconstitutional” and warned that passing it would require Poland to withdraw from the European Union and the Council of Europe.
Mazur argued that weakening judicial independence would ultimately harm citizens by depriving them of protection against abuses of power.
Żurek said the government has a "plan B" to restore the independence of the KRS, based on mobilising the judicial community under existing procedures to select 15 members of the body, with the parliamentary majority pledging to respect that choice.
He also said he remained committed to rebuilding what he described as independent judicial institutions, including the Constitutional Tribunal and the KRS.
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Source: IAR, PAP