U.S. Presses Poland to End Constitutional Rift

By MARTIN M. SOBCZYK

Diplomats say Warsaw should reverse moves that limited power of high court

WARSAW—Officials in Washington are putting pressure on #Poland to end a #constitutional_crisis here or face a cooler patch in relations with the U.S., Polish officials said, in a sign of discord that could undermine Warsaw’s ambition to host more allied troops.

U.S. diplomats visiting Poland recently told government officials that they expected Poland to implement recommendations by Europe’s top international human-rights organization that Warsaw reverse its recent moves curtailing the power of the nation’s highest court to rule against government legislation. A draft opinion of the Venice Commission, an advisory body to the Council of Europe, sharply criticized those changes. The final version of the opinion is expected next week.

Since taking power in November, Poland’s right-leaning Law and Justice government has moved to install its judges at the Constitutional Tribunal, whose rulings on legislation are final. In doing so, the governing camp reversed appointments made in the previous term of parliament by its political rivals.

The move proved controversial and sparked public protests by opposition groups. It led to uncertainties over the legal status of the nominated judges, some of whom aren’t allowed to participate fully in the court’s work.

The governing camp then rewrote rules to make agreement by a larger proportion of judges necessary to pass rulings and to force the court to rule on cases in the order they arrive, preventing it from prioritizing them.

The Venice Commission in a draft opinion leaked to the public last week said the government’s overhaul of the court will slow it down, making it “an ineffective guardian of the Constitution.”

The U.S. request to backtrack on the changes has irritated the Polish government, said a person familiar with the negotiations.

Without naming any country, Poland’s leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said on Thursday night allies were making “a very grave mistake” by siding with the opposition and demanding that the Venice Commission’s recommendations be implemented.

In an indication he is considering ignoring the U.S. demands, Mr. Kaczynski, who leads the Law and Justice party but holds no executive office, said on Thursday that the Venice Commission’s recommendations “are in no way binding for us,” adding they are “absurd.”

Mr. Kaczynski said those unnamed allies turned Poland’s constitutional crisis “into a matter of Polish sovereignty.” The Polish government insists it has acted lawfully when nominating new judges and rewriting laws for the court.

Poland will host the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in July. Its officials have said they hope to get allies to agree to increase their military presence on the bloc’s eastern flank to deter any aggression by Russia.

It has for years sought a permanent NATO military presence.

Poland joined NATO in 1999 largely out of fear of its historic foe, Russia. It has long complained about what it sees as second-class membership of the bloc. The Law and Justice government has promised to improve Poland’s security.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Friday he wouldn’t discuss details of diplomatic conversations with the Polish government.

“But we do have a frank, candid exchange with the Poles on a variety of issues, including the character and quality of its democracy,” Mr. Toner said. “That’s a conversation we’re having, and will continue to have.”

Asked whether the issue could affect U.S. or NATO military plans, Mr. Toner would only say that plans remain on track.

“Poland is a NATO Ally, and we are looking forward to a successful NATO Summit in Warsaw this July,” he said, adding military exercises were expected to continue. “As the president recently announced, we are looking to expand our engagement in Europe, including Poland, not lessen it.”

The issue of Polish tribunal laws came up last month, when Secretary of State John Kerry hosted Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski in Washington. Mr. Kerry at the time referred to it as one of the country’s “internal challenges.”

The U.S. expressed concern earlier, as well. In December, Mr. Toner in a public news briefing at the State Department, said the U.S. had raised its concerns with Polish officials.

“Any democracy needs strong systems of checks and balances, needs judicial independence,” Mr. Toner said then. “These are critical, crucial elements of a constitutional democracy and establishing rule of law. I think in that light, we’re going to watch these developments closely.”

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