Polish lawmakers adopt legislation to reform controversial constitutional court
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Poland's lower house of parliament on Friday adopted legislation to reform the controversial constitutional court that remains under the control of the nationalists previously in power.
To enter into effect, the legislation still needs to be signed by President Andrzej Duda -- an ally of the preceding right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party government -- who has not indicated what he plans to do.
The constitutional court had been a source of contention between the PiS government and Brussels, which believed the tribunal damaged the independence of Poland's judiciary and extended the party's influence over the courts.
Over the years, Poland's constitutional court has repeatedly challenged the primacy of EU law over national law.
The parliament today "took a huge step forward" towards reestablishing the rule of law in Poland, parliament speaker Szymon Holownia told reporters.
The legislation notably calls for constitutional court judges to be chosen by a three-fifths majority vote -- thus taking opposition votes into consideration -- in contrast to the current absolute majority rule.
Candidates would also be rejected if, during the previous four years, they had served as a lawmaker, senator, member of the European Parliament, government member, or had been part of a political party.
Holownia called on the president to sign the legislation into law and thereby "repair" the judicial system leftover by the previous administration.
He added that in case of a presidential veto, there would be no choice but to wait until a new head of state is elected next year.
Since taking office in December, pro-EU Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government has sought to reverse policies introduced by the previous administration that had been seen by Brussels as backsliding on democracy.
In February, Brussels formally approved the release of EU funds -- that had been blocked for several years under the PiS government -- to Poland after Warsaw made progress on judicial reforms.
In March, Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar announced a set of measures to "redress the situation" at the constitutional court, which continues to oppose various legislative and governmental initiatives.