Seven days in Poland

Despite pressure from the most powerful countries in the West, President Andrzej Duda has decided to sign an amendment to the Administrative Procedure Code. This ends the subject of wild reprivatisation. He starts a diplomatic war with the US and Israel. „With the signing of the Kpa, the era of legal chaos ends. The era of reprivatisation mafias, uncertainty of millions of Poles and lack of respect for the elementary rights of citizens of our country,” the president said. He pointed out that all political forces were able to agree on this particular issue. Duda concluded that these were the legal changes expected by everyone. He stressed that the amendment is the implementation of a 2015 Constitutional Court ruling. At the same time, it does not close the judicial – civil – route for compensation.

After several weeks of wrangling between TVN and the Discovery Corporation and the Law and Justice government, we have reached yet another moment that casts doubt on the efforts of the ruling party. It turns out that a news station owned by the American company Discovery, which favours the Polish liberal opposition, will be able to continue operating in Poland on the basis of a satellite concession obtained in the Netherlands. The TV management stresses that it was 'forced’ to apply for it in July this year because the Polish National Broadcasting Council is suspending its decision to renew the concession in Poland. It argues its lack of a positive decision by the fact that the TVN group is owned by American capital.

After a year marked by lockdowns, the Pride Marches – or equality marches, as they are called in Poland – are back. The last one took place in Krakow. The march had the record length in its history – over 5.5 kilometres. According to official figures, there were about 5,500 participants. Apart from the joyful atmosphere and demonstrating their existence, the participants of the March conveyed to the city community their manifesto, read out before the event. More events like this are to take place next weekend in Gdańsk and Częstochowa.

Refugees from now extremist-controlled Afghanistan will be able to settle in the capital’s Bielany district. Mayor Grzegorz Pietruczuk reacted promptly and with the right sensitivity to the disturbing news from Asia. Pietruczuk, the only left-wing mayor of a district in Warsaw, sent a letter to the Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, offering to provide housing for families who are forced to leave their country as a result of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.

There was a deadline of 16 August to comply with the CJEU decision on the Supreme Court Disciplinary Chamber. However, Poland decided that a letter of reply was sufficient. The government informed the EC that, yes, it intends to abolish the Disciplinary Chamber in its current form. It also promised that it would continue to implement the assumptions of the reform of the judiciary made and conceived by Zbigniew Ziobro. He then decided, it seems, that this was enough to overrule the CJEU’s decision to suspend the Disciplinary Chamber. He therefore submitted a request for the order to be revoked. He referred to the 14 July ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal, oblivious to the fact that the Constitutional Tribunal in its present form also raises many doubts in the European institutions. In its motion, however, the Polish government once again pointed to the primacy of the Polish Constitution over laws and international agreements, including European law.