Reset of the Constitutional Tribunal proposed as Nawrocki holds talks; KO protests

In brief

• President Karol Nawrocki held Saturday consultations with parliamentary groups on the crisis at the Constitutional Tribunal.
• Konfederacja, Razem and PSL backed a reset of the tribunal's composition, with Konfederacja presenting five principles and Razem proposing a new bench chosen by qualified majority.
• The crisis escalated after the suspension of the activities of TK president Bogdan Święczkowski and vice-president Bartłomiej Sochański, which led to a demonstration and a police intervention.
• Civic Coalition opposes the reset concept.

Reset proposals gain support

President Karol Nawrocki held consultations at the Presidential Palace on Saturday with representatives of parliamentary groups. (Mentzen przekonał prezydenta Nawrockiego? „Założenia okazały się spójne” – RMF24) ("Jedyna szansa". Kosiniak-Kamysz zabrał głos, tak chce "uzdrowić" TK – Wirtualna Polska)

Sławomir Mentzen, leader of Nowa Nadzieja, the parliamentary caucus of his Konfederacja party, told reporters before the meeting that he would present a concrete plan for a reset of the TK. He argued that the conflict between PiS and Civic Coalition has lasted more than a decade and that the choice was between continuing it for another ten years or a constitutional reset.

Konfederacja presented the president with five principles for a reset, while Krzysztof Bosak announced efforts to shorten the term of the Sejm. (Konfederacja przedstawiła Nawrockiemu plan naprawczy TK. Reset i skrócenie kadencji Sejmu – Rzeczpospolita) (Bosak i Mentzen po spotkaniu z prezydentem Nawrockim. „Wygasić wszystkie kadencje wszystkich sędziów obecnego Trybunału Konstytucyjnego” – nczas.info)

Adrian Zandberg of Razem also backed a reset after his meeting with the president, proposing that a new composition be chosen by a qualified majority. (Zandberg przedstawił plan na kryzys w TK. Proponuje reset i nowy skład – Rzeczpospolita)

PSL leader Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said public trust in the tribunal had been destroyed and that a constitutional reset was the only way out of the deadlock.

Former Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet said he saw no alternative to the idea, which he noted some commentators had mocked. (Andrzej Seremet o chaosie w TK. „Rzecz bezprecedensowa i budząca zdumienie” – Rzeczpospolita)

Background

The crisis escalated on Friday when the suspension of the activities of TK president Bogdan Święczkowski and vice-president Bartłomiej Sochański was announced. The move led to a demonstration, a police intervention, and the president's return to the country.

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