Dan Kelemen on "Poland's Constitutional Crisis: How the Law and Justice Party is Threatening Democracy"

Network member R. Daniel Kelemen (Rutgers) has alerted to his new piece in Foreign Affairs, entitled "Poland's Constitutional Crisis: How the Law and Justice Party is Threatening Democracy," which may be of interest to readers. The first paragraph is below and the remainder can be read here.

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After simmering for nine months, the tension between Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and the country’s highest court, the Constitutional Tribunal, is coming to a boil. The PiS government is attempting an unconstitutional takeover of the tribunal—ignoring its rulings, trying to pack it with new judges, and, most recently, threatening the head judge with prosecution. At stake are the survival of constitutional democracy and the rule of law in Poland. [continue reading here]

Maciej Kisilowski (CEU) on the "moment of truth" in Poland's constitutional dispute

Network member Maciej Kisilowski (CEU) has a new piece in EUObserver entitled "Moment of truth for Poland in constitutional dispute".  The opening passages are below and the remainder can be read here.

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The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland suffered two major setbacks this week.

On Wednesday (9 March), the nation’s Constitutional Tribunal declared a sweeping amendment limiting the tribunal’s powers to be unconstitutional.

On Friday, the Venice Commission, an advisory body to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, issued a powerful concurrence. Like the Polish court, it did not find a single major provision of the amendment, passed by PiS last December, consistent with European principles of democracy and the rule of law.

The twin decisions bring about a moment of truth for PiS. The party can either retreat from its overreach and try to implement its reform agenda within the current constitutional framework or set Poland on the path to authoritarianism.

Warsaw’s international partners should strongly support the moderate course without risking their own “liberal overreach”.

[continue reading here]

Dan Kelemen in Foreign Affairs: Europe's Autocracy Problem

Network member Dan Kelemen (Rutgers) has a new article out in Foreign Affairs.  Co-authored with Mitchell Orenstein (UPenn), and entitled "Europe's Autocracy Problem: Polish Democracy's Final Days?," the article explores Poland's slide toward autocracy and the role played by EU inaction in bringing it about.  The first paragraph follows; the full version can be found here.

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Winter has come to Europe, but it seems to be springtime for the continent’s autocrats. Following the example of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz Party, Poland’s new government, led by the nationalist-populist Law and Justice party (PiS), has launched assaults on the country’s judiciary and public media, putting Polish democracy and the rule of law at risk. In December, tens of thousands of Poles demonstrated against the government’s illiberal actions; European Commission officials, meanwhile, have promised to investigate whether the developments in Poland constitute a “systemic threat” to the rule of law there. Unsurprisingly, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the PiS, has dismissed the protestors as traitors and rejected criticism from abroad.

The article continues here.

Kim Scheppele in Politico: "EU can still block Hungary’s veto on Polish sanctions"

Network member Kim Scheppele (Princeton) has a new piece in Politico.eu entitled 'EU can still block Hungary’s veto on Polish sanctions'.  An excerpt of the opening paragraphs are below and the remainder can be read here.

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The Law and Justice government in Poland stormed into office with rash plans to disable the Constitutional Court, muzzle the media, fire a wide swath of civil servants, politicize independent institutions and seize partisan control of the military. This has set off alarm bells in Brussels, where the European Commission has listed the Polish crisis on the agenda for its plenary meeting January 13 and the European Parliament has scheduled Poland for a debate January 19.  Talk of “Article 7” is in the air.

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Following Hungary’s moves to disable the checks and balances of its constitutional system, Poland is now the second state to have generated a threat to use Article 7. But precisely because Poland is following Hungary, the harshest sanctions available under Article 7 have already become nearly impossible to use.  [continue reading here]

Maciej Kisilowski on Constitutional Crisis in Poland

Network member Maciej Kisilowski (Central European University) has a new piece up on Politico that should be of interest to the broader network.  Entitled "Poland’s ‘overnight court’ breaks all the rules: Law and Justice party attempt political takeover of Constitutional Court", the first paragraph is below and the remainder can be found here.

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Poland’s constitutional order is under a full-scale assault by the country’s newly elected right-wing government. Just two weeks after a general election, the ruling Law and Justice party abandoned its friendly, moderate campaign image to enter into battle with the Constitutional Court. Its actions in its first two weeks in power heighten the worries that Poland may follow the “illiberal democracy” path set by Hungary under its populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. [continue reading here]