Poland’s president vetoes controversial reform of judiciary
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Monday vetoed controversial judicial reforms that had prompted huge street protests and threats of unprecedented EU sanctions.
The veto came as a surprise move from Duda, a close ally of the ruling rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party that had pushed the reforms.
Duda said he made his decision after extensive consultations with legal experts at the weekend, when thousands of people took to the streets across Poland urging him to veto proposals that led critics to accuse the government of threatening the rule of law.
The reforms will now pass back to parliament to be amended and would need a three-fifths majority -- which the PiS does not have -- to go through. “I have decided to send back to parliament -- therefore, to veto -- the law on the Supreme Court, as well as the law on the National Council of the Judiciary,” Duda said in a televised announcement. “This law would not strengthen the sense of justice” in society, he said.
His veto was immediately welcomed by the opposition.
“It’s without a doubt a step in the right direction,” said Kamila Pihowicz-Gasiuk, a lawmaker from the liberal Nowoczesna party. “It’s proof that pressure from citizens can work.”