Warsaw City Hall
Poland: The Polish Capital Court System Delays Cases Because Of Political Battle
Classified Polnews
Warsaw, Poland 1 March. 2007. The Courts in Poland are delaying cases that involve the Polish Capital City of Warsaw because they are not sure if there is a valid representative for the City. The issue causing the delays can take up to three years to resolve.
The elected President of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Walcz, was 10 hours late in filing her husband's financial statement as is required by an election law hastily passed just prior to her election. Over 700 other officials in Poland also failed to meet the deadline.
The operative law was passed with the intent of stopping corruption. Filing a financial statement 10 hours late is no indicia of corruption. Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, however, said that "the law is the law" and is using it as a convenient way to take control of Warsaw.
Kaczynski said that she lost her mandate to govern at the time she failed to file the statement. Gronkiewicz Walcz, however, is contesting the issue and has said that she will remain in office until a Court rules otherwise.
Poland's Constitutional Tribunal is expected to rule on the Constitutionality of the Law in the middle of March.
The Administrative Courts will be able to adjudicate the matter only after either the Warsaw City Board or the Regional Governor, in accordance with the law, remove her mandate.
The City Board has voted to not remove her mandate. The Regional Governor said that if the City Board did not remove her mandate by 1 March, he would.
If the Regional Governor removes her mandate, Gronkkiwicz-Walcz will file her case with the Administrative Court. With consideration of appeals time, the process can take up to three years.
If that is the case, the City of Warsaw could be bogged down for 3 years.
Another issue that might arise is that lawyers for developers and other companies having business with the City may advise their clients that any contracts may be voidable since the signatory to the contract may not an empowered person.
Members of Kaczynski's party and their supporters should be effected by the delays in the Courts and any other fallout that will result. With time they are likely to push Kaczynski to do something to allow business to go forward.
That something could be amending the law to allow the 700 officials to keep their mandates.
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