Business Council Urges Politicians to ‘Hold Off’ in Constitutional Tribunal Dispute

Poland’s Entrepreneurship Council has called for an end to the escalating dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) and for steps that would lead to a lasting resolution of the crisis. The instability of institutions weakens Poland’s image as a safe place to do business, the appeal said.

“The Entrepreneurship Council appeals to representatives of public authorities and all political groups to lower the temperature of public debate, halt the escalation and take action leading to a lasting resolution of the years-long crisis and ensuring that the Constitutional Tribunal functions in line with the Constitution,” the council said in a statement published Monday.

The council, which brings together the largest organizations representing entrepreneurs and employers in Poland, stressed that Poland needs an independent Constitutional Tribunal that effectively carries out its duties and ensures the protection of constitutional rights.

In their appeal, the business leaders noted that stability, the rule of law, efficient institutions and predictable law are the foundations of trust among investors, lenders and foreign partners. They added that years of uncertainty over the functioning of the body that rules on whether legislation complies with the Constitution undermines confidence in economic activity.

“A continuation of the crisis could translate into a higher cost of capital, more cautious investment decisions and a weaker image of Poland as a safe place to do business,” they said.

The representatives of the Entrepreneurship Council stressed that their call for de-escalation does not prejudge any assessment of past actions or responsibility for the emergence and course of the crisis. They added that they are also not calling for the existing state of affairs to be entrenched or for action to ensure the Tribunal functions in line with the Constitution to be abandoned.

The business leaders called for toning down the rhetoric and reducing tensions around the Tribunal so as to make it easier to resolve the crisis and rebuild citizens’ trust in state institutions.

The council also called for urgent talks involving the president, the government, parliament and representatives of all political forces, and for developing and implementing solutions that ensure the Tribunal functions in line with the Constitution.

The business leaders’ third demand is that all actions be conducted within the bounds of the law, with respect for the supremacy of the Constitution and the constitutional powers of each state body.

The council expressed readiness to support any initiative serving dialogue and the pursuit of these goals, including by taking part in talks within the framework of social dialogue.

It recalled that “Poland has an economic success behind it that the world admires.” “It is the shared achievement of millions of workers, entrepreneurs and successive governments, regardless of their political colors,” the appeal said.

As the business leaders put it, “the capital of trust built over decades can be lost within a few weeks.”

“We need responsible leadership, mutual respect and a commitment to the interests of Poland and its citizens above current political disputes. The interest of Poland that unites us should take precedence over the differences that divide us,” the Entrepreneurship Council said in concluding its appeal.

On the evening of Friday, Oct. 30, representatives of the group elected as TK judges by the current term of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, announced that Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, as the longest-serving judge, had become the acting head of the Constitutional Tribunal. They said she had issued an order for a break in the duties of TK President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice President Bartłomiej Sochański. Korwin-Piotrowska said at the time that she and six other people elected as TK judges in this term were inside the Tribunal’s headquarters.

A protest outside the TK building then intensified. Among those who arrived was Bogdan Święczkowski, who declared that as TK president he is the sole administrator of the Tribunal’s building and that “all decisions made by usurpers are unlawful from beginning to end.”

The Warsaw Metropolitan Police Headquarters said at the time that officers were carrying out statutory duties at the TK building in connection with information provided by Anna Korwin-Piotrowska about possible threats to the lives or health of TK judges and staff.

Because of the situation at the TK, President Karol Nawrocki cut short a trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw late Friday night. He met with, among others, Zbigniew Kapiński, First President of the Supreme Court, and then went to the TK building. Early Saturday, the president issued a statement saying, among other things, that “the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland was violated and a constitutional state body was seized by force.” The president then called urgent political consultations, and talks were held at the Presidential Palace with representatives of parliamentary clubs and caucuses, except for the clubs of the Civic Coalition (KO) and the Left.

On Saturday evening, Prime Minister Donald Tusk delivered an address in which he said, among other things, that the current Sejm “elected new judges who took the oath,” but that President Karol Nawrocki did not administer the oath of office to them, and that TK President Bogdan Święczkowski prevented them from starting work. “After many weeks of patiently waiting, when they decided to take up their duties (…), they were attacked,” he said. He added that the police “protected the Tribunal from attackers.”

The prime minister also said that “the attack on the Constitutional Tribunal and its judges is the latest stage in the process of destroying the rule of law in Poland by PiS [the Law and Justice party] and Presidents Andrzej Duda and Karol Nawrocki,” and that “the state must be strong and capable of enforcing justice.”

The Entrepreneurship Council is a forum for cooperation among representatives of the nine largest organizations representing entrepreneurs and employers in Poland. It represents nearly 330,000 employers who employ more than 8 million workers. The council is currently chaired by Konfederacja Lewiatan. (PAP)