Polish president Duda blocks judiciary reforms
Polish President Andrzej Duda yesterday 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 had 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 have 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."
The reforms would have increased political control over the judiciary, sparking an outcry amongst critics who said the PiS party was seeking to reduce the independence of the courts.
"It should not be part of our tradition that the attorney general can interfere in the work of the Supreme Court," Duda said.
The role of attorney general is held by the justice minister in Poland, and the change was among reforms that had sparked concern over the rule of law.
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