Speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty said on Monday, 2 November, that the Constitutional Tribunal „may change its earlier decisions”, including on women’s abortion rights. He also announced that he will use the Speaker’s power to refer matters to the Tribunal.
The remarks were made at Monday’s press conference, as reported by „Rzeczpospolita”. According to the paper, Czarzasty said the Tribunal should strike down provisions „that harm civil rights and freedoms”, including women’s abortion rights, and that it may revise earlier rulings. He referred to the Tribunal’s October 2020 judgment, which declared unconstitutional the grounds for abortion due to severe fetal malformation.
What the Speaker announced
Czarzasty pointed to the power granted to him by Article 191 of the constitution. According to „Rzeczpospolita”, he said: „As Speaker of the Sejm I have the right (…) to file a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Tribunal. My predecessors did not use this power. I will.” The Speaker did not say what exactly his motion would contain, when it would be filed, or whether it would directly concern the abortion ruling. So far, this is an announcement, not a filed document.
Czarzasty also commented on the situation at the Tribunal after Friday, 30 October. That evening, Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who had not taken the oath before the president, entered the building together with other judges elected in this term of the Sejm. The building was surrounded by police. The judge announced that she was taking over the leadership of the Tribunal and issued orders which, in her view, suspend President Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy. The president was not allowed inside. We reported on the first hours of the crisis in our article on the takeover of the Tribunal and the president’s interrupted trip, and on the prime minister’s response in our piece on Donald Tusk’s address on Saturday.
„This is a fight for democracy”
The Speaker called the current Tribunal a „politically corrupt annex”. He blamed a coalition in which he named Grzegorz Braun, Jarosław Kaczyński, Mateusz Morawiecki and Krzysztof Bosak, „under the patronage of President Nawrocki”. He described the dispute over the Tribunal as a fight for democracy. He also rejected the idea of a „constitutional reset”: in his view, the issue is not changing the constitution but respecting it.
Czarzasty also announced that the Sejm will process a motion for a constructive vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and a motion to shorten the term of the Sejm. Asked about notifications to the prosecutor’s office, including over an alleged coup and violation of judges’ inviolability, he said the prosecutor’s office would decide independently of him. He also confirmed his participation in Tuesday’s meeting of the National Security Council.
What it means
Today, abortion regulations remain unchanged. The 2020 ruling is in force, and the Speaker’s announcement has no legal effect until a specific motion reaches the Tribunal and is examined. It is also unclear who would adjudicate, given that the status of some judges and of the Tribunal’s leadership is disputed, and the president questions the legality of Korwin-Piotrowska’s actions. Tribunal rulings are generally final, so the idea of „reversing” them raises legal disputes. As of publication, there is no information on the timing or content of the motion the Speaker mentioned.
