Poland's lower house of parliament passes contested Supreme Court bill

Record ID: 903453

  • Title: Poland's lower house of parliament passes contested Supreme Court bill
  • Date: 20th July 2017
  • Summary: WARSAW, POLAND (JULY 20, 2017) (REUTERS) POLISH PARLIAMENT IN SESSION AHEAD OF VOTE ON SUPREME COURT BILL OPPOSITION MP SPEAKING MP SPEAKING, LEADER OF LAW AND JUSTICE PARTY, JAROSLAW KACZYNSKI, SEATED (MIDDLE), SMIRKING POLISH PRIME MINISTER BEATA SZYDLO LISTENING POLISH OMBUDSMAN, ADAM BODNAR, APPROACHING LECTERN (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) POLISH OMBUDSMAN, ADAM BODNAR, SAYING: "Honourable Mr. Speaker, High Chamber, thank you for granting me a right to speak. I stand before you today to once again express my worries about the proposed Supreme Court bill. The Supreme Court bill and also two other bills on the National Judiciary Board and the law on common courts will have one result. They will rid the citizens of the right to an independent court, one of the most important civil rights, a right without which other rights and freedoms cannot be defended, without which the authorities cannot be controlled, without which the authority cannot be curbed." APPLAUSE AS BODNAR LEAVES, SPEAKER ANNOUNCING VOTE ON SUPREME COURT BILL MPS VOTING IN FAVOUR RAISING ARMS/MPS VOTING AGAINST RAISING ARMS, RULING PARTY MPS APPLAUDING AS VOTE RESULT IN FAVOUR OF BILL IS ANNOUNCED KACZYNSKI APPLAUDING KACZYNSKI SITTING DOWN
  • Embargoed: 3rd August 2017 14:30
  • Keywords: Supreme Court judiciary parliament reform
  • Location: WARSAW, POLAND
  • City: WARSAW, POLAND
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016QIVN0N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: LIVEU QUALITY. PLEASE SEE EDIT 4185 FOR BROADCAST QUALITY IMAGES
    Poland's lower house of parliament passed a contested Supreme Court law on Thursday (July 20) which the opposition says would erode the independence of the judiciary and undermine democracy.
    The bill, submitted by the conservative, ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, must now be approved by the upper house. PiS has a majority in both houses of parliament.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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