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PiS leader calls Venice Commission draft opinion 'absurd'

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 04.03.2016 08:45
The head of the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jarosław Kaczyński, has said that the draft opinion of the Venice Commission is legally “absurd”.
Jarosław Kaczyński. Photo: PAP/Artur Reszko Jarosław Kaczyński. Photo: PAP/Artur Reszko

Kaczyński said that the critical draft report on the state of law in Poland by the Venice Commission, the advisory group to human rights body the Council of Europe, was merely a guideline.

“These are only the opinions of an advisory nature – or even less than advisory – and in any case are not binding,” Kaczyński said.

The MP, considered to be one of the most influential people in Polish politics, added that the Commission was compromised when the draft opinion was leaked to the press.

“The Commission was compromised by leaking the document. The content of this draft document – because it is still a draft – if it is to be taken seriously, is absurd from a legal standpoint,” Kaczyński said.

The Venice Commission has said it will not postpone a report on legal changes in Poland, despite a request for a delay from Warsaw.

The Commission visited Warsaw last month to probe whether democratic standards are being upheld by Poland.

The commission said in a statement on its website on Thursday that the adoption of its findings following its trip to Poland “will allow to discuss and address […] the real issue at stake, i.e. how to guarantee the continued effectiveness of [Poland’s] Constitutional Tribunal as a guardian of the constitution.”

In a preliminary opinion, obtained by the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper and made public over the weekend, the Venice Commission said an ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland poses a danger to the rule of law, democracy and human rights.

The crisis erupted following reforms of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal pushed through by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which came to power in October. (rg)

Source: Polish Radio, TVN

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