Following the two-year prison sentence handed to MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik for their abuse of power in previous posts, parliamentary speaker Szymon Hołownia is pushing to revoke their mandates and deprive them of parliamentary immunity.
In 2015, weeks after the conservative Law and Justice (PiS, ECR) party came to power, President Andrzej Duda issued a pardon to Kamiński and Wąsik, who were found guilty of abuse of power while serving in the anti-corruption agency. The pardon allowed both politicians to join PiS’ government.
Lawyers questioned the president’s pardon as it was issued before a court issued a final ruling in his case. The opposition argued that the decision by Duda, a former PiS member, was political.
The Constitutional Tribunal, the impartiality of which was contested by the EU Commission, ruled in June last year that the president had a right to pardon Kamiński. Still, days later, the Supreme Court decided that the case concerning the abuse of power should be reopened.
As a result of last October’s elections, PiS was replaced by the wide coalition of centrist and leftist parties (EPP/S&D/Renew/Left) led by Donald Tusk. Then, Kamiński and Wąsik were sentenced to two years in prison.
Following the final court decision, Hołownia ordered Kamiński and Wąsik’s MP mandates to be revoked and deprived them of parliamentary immunity.
Both MPs protested against the speaker’s step. “There are no grounds for terminating our (parliamentary) mandates,” Kamiński told a press briefing.
“We do not feel guilty or convicted, we were pardoned by Mr President,” Wąsik added.
Supported by their party last week, the revoked lawmakers appealed to the Supreme Court’s Labour and Social Security Law Chamber.
The chamber, created under the PiS government and found illegal by the EU Court of Justice, overrode Hołownia’s decision, stripping both lawmakers of their mandates and creating a serious deadlock.
Hołownia will also consult with retired judges on the lawmakers’ immunities, according to PAP.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
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Source: euractiv.com
