International
Poland's Duda blocks judiciary reforms after days of protests
Poland's Duda blocks judiciary reforms
July 24, 2017 | 01:43 PM
* President vetoes two out of three judicial reform bills
* Duda says he backs reform, but not in current form* Reforms criticised by EU and US* PiS MP says "we may have to wait much longer" for real reform Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Monday that he would veto two of three bills passed by parliament in a judicial reform that has triggered nationwide street protests and raised EU and US concerns about a politicisation of the courts.Duda is an ally of the ruling right-wing, eurosceptic Law and Justice party and, although he had threatened to water down one of the bills, his veto of a second bill was a surprise."I have decided that I will send back to the Sejm (lower house of parliament) - which means I will veto - the bill on the Supreme Court, as well as the one on the National Council of the Judiciary," Duda said.The move quickly found favour with foreign investors, boosting the Polish currency, the zloty, around 0.7% against the euro.On Saturday, the upper house had given final approval to a bill that would remove all current Supreme Court judges immediately except those hand-picked by the justice minister.Parliament had earlier passed a bill giving it the right to name most of the members of the National Council of the Judiciary, which would nominate future candidates for the president to appoint to the Supreme Court.
July 24, 2017 | 01:43 PM