Changes to Poland’s supreme court endanger the rule of law, democracy and human rights, according to a draft opinion from Europe’s leading constitutional experts.

The draft from the Venice Commission, legal experts who advise the Council of Europe, called on the Polish government to strike out provisions of a law reforming the country’s highest court.



Last year Poland’s staunchly conservative Law and Justice party attempted to install five judges of its own choosing on the 15-member constitutional tribunal shortly after coming to power. This was followed by a hastily passed law in December overhauling court procedures, making it harder to pass rulings.



In a draft report that was leaked to Polish media, the Venice Commission said the tribunal’s effectiveness could be crippled, thereby damaging human rights as access to justice was denied.

“As long as the situation of constitutional crisis related to the constitutional tribunal remains unsettled and as long as the constitutional tribunal cannot carry out its work in an efficient manner, not only is the rule of law in danger, but so is democracy and human rights,” the expert body concluded.

Changes to the court removed “a crucial mechanism which ensures that potential conflicts with European and international norms and standards can be resolved at the national level”, it said.

Although the Council of Europe cannot penalise countries or force them to change laws, the stinging rebuke is certain to carry weight. “Member states as a rule don’t ignore [Council of Europe] recommendations,” a Council of Europe spokesman said, while declining to comment on the leak.

The report will also influence the European commission, which has launched an inquiry into the rule of law in Poland, the first time EU authorities have investigated the democratic standards of a member state.



The Council of Europe, which is not part of the EU, will publish the expert group’s final opinion shortly after 11-12 March, following a meeting with Polish government representatives in Venice.

It is conducting a separate inquiry into Poland’s media law, after the Polish government rushed through legislation empowering it to appoint the heads of state TV and radio.

The Polish government has yet to respond to a letter from the Council of Europe secretary-general, sent in early January, expressing concern about the law’s effect on “the integrity and independence” of the media. “We hope to pursue a dialogue on that with the Polish authorities,” the spokesman said.

Poland has reacted angrily to suggestions it is falling short of democratic standards. This month Warsaw hit back at three US senators who said changes to Poland’s constitutional court and media regulation could harm democratic norms, including freedom of speech and an independent judiciary.

Poland’s prime minister, Beata Szydło, said the senators – who included the former Republican presidential contender John McCain – had no right to be lecturing and “imposing actions concerning my fatherland”.