President signs Constitutional Tribunal bills

Asked by public broadcaster TVP on Monday night when he would sign the bills, Duda said that “one of the duties of the president is to guarantee the continuity of state officials”.

Monday marked the end of the term of Tribunal head judge Andrzej Rzepliński.

Rzepliński had been a thorn in the side of the Law and Justice (PiS)-led government since it came to power in October 2015. The Tribunal has blocked some bills swept through by the party, which holds a majority in parliament and the Senate.

Minutes after Duda's interview with TVP was broadcast, Poland's official government gazette published the bills, meaning that they had already been signed.

Changes to the makeup of the Tribunal that are supported by Prime Minister Beata Szydło’s government have been the focus of a number of visits by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission watchdog, as well as debates in the European Parliament on the rule of law in Poland.

PiS argues that the Tribunal needs reform while the justice system in general still carries the vestiges of the former communist system of government, which the ruling party has vowed to wipe out.

Critics say that the new regualtions could weaken the court, as a majority of PiS-affiliated judges on the Tribunal could pave the way for the acceptance of future goverment bills. Some of the bills deemed unconstitutional by former head judge Rzepliński, were branded "anti-democratic" by the opposition both in Poland and the European Union. (rg)