Senate Likely To Debate Supreme Court Bill On Jan 31

The upper house of parliament will likely debate court law tabled to unlock EU recovery funds earmarked for Poland on January 31, Senate Speaker Tomasz Grodzki told PAP newswire.

• The bill was approved by the lower house (Sejm) last Friday thanks to the decision of most opposition lawmakers to abstain from voting, which lowered the threshold of absolute majority, allowing the ruling Law and Justice to circumvent a pushback from its junior coalition partner.
• Grodzki said at a meeting yesterday that the Senate will prepare "such amendments that will ensure that the bill returns to the Sejm in a better shape." In its current form, the legislative proposal has sparked controversies over its constitutionality, which could potentially lead to a presidential veto.
• Should the Senate introduce its amendments, the bill would be returned to the Sejm, which would be able to reject these amendments with a simple majority of votes. Lower house lawmakers would then vote on the entire bill again, before sending it to the Presidential Palace for signature.
• Prime Minister Morawiecki and ruling party lawmakers criticised the decision to start debating the bill near the month-end, with the Premier noting that Senate Speaker could have convened a meeting of the upper house this week.