Commissioner for Human Rights

The Commissioner for Human Rights has presented his position regarding the application submitted by the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) to the Constitutional Tribunal, which challenges the constitutionality of provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the rules of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The Commissioner argues that the KRS's application essentially seeks to undermine ECtHR judgments against Poland, in particular:

• Point 1 of the petitum seeks a ruling on the unconstitutionality of ECtHR judgments in the Reczkowicz, Dolińska-Ficek, Advance-Pharma, Juszczyszyn and Wallach cases, declaring irregularities in the appointment of certain Supreme Court judges after March 6, 2018; 
• Point 2 of the petition seeks a ruling on the unconstitutionality of the ECtHR's judgment in the Xero-Flor case, stating that the election of a Constitutional Court judge was irregular;
• Point 3 of the petitum seeks a ruling on the unconstitutionality of the ECtHR's judgment in the Walesa case, because it was rendered by a panel without a Polish judge.

The Commissioner emphasizes that the Constitutional Tribunal is not empowered to review the constitutionality of international tribunal rulings, as its competence is limited to assessing the conformity of domestic law with the Polish Constitution. Therefore, any ruling by the Tribunal based on the KRS's application would be inadmissible, as there is no legal basis for assessing the compliance of ECtHR judgments with the Polish Constitution.

Additionally, the Commissioner points out that the ECtHR rules, which the KRS attempts to challenge, do not fall within the scope of the Constitutional Tribunal's jurisdiction, as they are not legal acts subject to constitutional review. The KRS also fails to provide sufficient arguments to support its claims, and the application cannot result in the annulment of the obligation for Polish authorities to implement ECtHR judgments.