WARSAW, July 22 (Reuters) - Poland's upper house of parliament approved on Saturday the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party's Supreme Court reform bill denounced by critics as undermining the separation of powers between executive and judiciary.

To become law, the bill now needs to be signed by President Andrzej Duda, an ally of PiS. (Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak; editing by Justyna Pawlak)</s>WARSAW — Andrzej Duda was a relatively obscure member of the right-wing Law and Justice party when the leader of the party and the most powerful man in the country plucked him from the chorus line to become its candidate for president in 2015. For most of the party’s first 20 months in power, he was a reliable proponent of the governing party’s nationalist initiatives.

On Monday, President Duda defied his patron, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and vetoed two bills aimed at placing Polish courts firmly under political control.

“It seems that the reality inside the ruling camp is more complex than we might think,” said Rafal Chwedoruk, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency.

There were already whispers of growing friction between the two leaders, an apparent schism that reflects a broader divide that has split Poland. The country was once in the vanguard of the democratic change that swept the region after the collapse of Communism. But it has steadily moved toward light authoritarianism and strident nationalism under Law and Justice, which has systematically dismantled much of that progress.</s>WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish President Andrzej Duda unexpectedly announced on Monday he would veto two of three judicial reform bills passed by parliament that have triggered nationwide protests and raised EU and U.S. concerns about a politicization of the courts.

Duda, an ally of the ruling right-wing, eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party, said while he agreed with the government on the need for an overhaul of the judiciary, the proposed measures were not in line with the constitution.

Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, clearly disappointed, said her government would not “yield to pressure” to drop the reforms but did not say how it would now proceed. PiS lacks a big enough parliamentary majority to overturn Duda’s veto.

“I use the right of veto because (the proposals) require changes to ensure they conform with the constitution,” Duda said in a televised address to the nation, adding that he would shortly present his own proposals.

His action appeared to catch the government off guard, while drawing only a cautious response from Brussels. PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland’s most powerful politician though without a government post, made no public comment on the veto.

The overhaul of the judiciary, coupled with a drive by PiS to expand its powers in other areas, including control of media, has provoked a crisis in relations with the European Union and sparked one of the biggest political conflicts since Poland overthrew communism in 1989.

Many Poles view the judiciary as corrupt and dominated by communist-era ways of thinking, while others see the government’s reform efforts as a power grab that will undermine Polish democracy.

For days, tens of thousands of protesters have held candlelit vigils in cities including Warsaw, Krakow and Poznan, demanding that Duda veto the reforms. Protests continued on Monday outside the PiS headquarters and Duda’s office in Warsaw.

“A FAIR POLAND”

In her own televised national address on Monday evening, Szydlo said: “We all want to live in a fair Poland, this is why the reform of the courts is needed... Today’s veto by the president has slowed down work on the reform.”

The government would not “yield to pressure from the street and from abroad”, she added.

Under the vetoed reforms, all current Supreme Court judges would have been immediately removed except those approved by the justice minister, who is also the prosecutor general.

They would also have given parliament the right to name most of the members of the National Council of the Judiciary, which would nominate future candidates for the president to appoint to the Supreme Court.

“Reform in this form will not increase the sense of security and justice ... Change has to be made in a way that doesn’t separate society and state,” Duda said in announcing his veto.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda leaves after his media announcement about Supreme Court legislation at Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, July 24, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

He later held talks with Szydlo and the speakers of the two houses of parliament.

The opposition and most legal experts say the changes would violate the Polish constitution. The government says the courts currently serve only the “elites” and rejects suggestions that Poland is heading towards authoritarian rule.

The European Commission last Wednesday gave Poland a week to shelve the reforms, which Brussels says would put courts under direct government control.

On Monday it reserved judgment on Duda’s move pending a discussion at its next meeting, on Wednesday. But Germany’s foreign office minister Michael Roth welcomed the veto and said he hoped Warsaw would completely ditch the reforms.

Polish opposition groups urged Duda also to reject a third bill which gives the justice minister the right to dismiss the heads of lower courts. The president signaled that he would approve this law.

The government would need a three-fifths parliamentary majority with at least half of all legislators present to overturn Duda’s veto - something PiS and its coalition partners are unlikely to be able to muster.

The state news agency PAP quoted the speaker of the upper house, the Senate, as saying there might be an additional sitting of parliament next week.

Anna Materska, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, said Duda’s decision to distance himself from a flagship PiS policy after previously appearing closely aligned to the party could mark a political watershed.

Slideshow (16 Images)

“What happened required courage, but the president was backed against the wall and had no other option. This is a key moment in the events of the latest months, maybe even years.”

Duda, 45, won the presidency in 2015 with the firm backing of Kaczynski, months before PiS also swept back to power in a parliamentary election on pledges to help poorer Poles and to protect national interests more vigorously in the EU and beyond.

Last week Poland’s latest bout of political turbulence helped to push its currency, the zloty, to three-month lows against the euro. Foreign investors welcomed Duda’s veto on Monday by pushing the zloty up about 0.5 percent. [EMRG/FRX]</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Crowds chanted "constitution, constitution" during a candlelit protest in Warsaw on Sunday

Polish President Andrzej Duda has announced he is vetoing a controversial law to replace Supreme Court judges with government nominees.

Three key judicial reforms have been passed by Poland's parliament, prompting days of demonstrations across the country.

Before they become law, they require approval by the president.

The changes have also set Poland's right-wing government on a collision course with the European Union.

The European Commission had threatened to impose sanctions this week if the reforms were not scrapped. European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, had warned of a "black scenario that could ultimately lead to the marginalisation of Poland in Europe".

Why did president step in?

"As president I don't feel this law would strengthen a sense of justice," Mr Duda said in a statement broadcast on national television. "These laws must be amended."

He said he was vetoing two of the new laws but approving a third, which gives the justice minister the right to name the heads of Poland's lower courts.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Duda had already intervened in the constitutional crisis last week

The Law and Justice (PiS) government has strongly rejected claims that the reforms are a move towards authoritarian rule and has expressed disappointment at Mr Duda's decision to wield a veto.

Mr Duda had already intervened last week in an attempt to find a compromise and his latest step came as a surprise.

He is himself a former member of the populist ruling party and he had already rejected a meeting on the crisis with Donald Tusk.

He said he had discussed the reforms at the weekend with legal experts as well as judges. The most influential voice, he said, was that of Zofia Romaszewska, a veteran dissident from the communist era who told Mr Duda she did not want to go back to the days when "the general prosecutor could do virtually anything".

Image copyright Polish presidency Image caption Zofia Romaszewska is widely revered in Poland for her human rights activities in the 1980s

She was jailed during the years of martial law in the early 1980s but is now one of the president's advisers. Ms Romaszewska told Polish media it was completely out of the question for the attorney general to take charge of the Supreme Court.

Opposition MPs also praised the role of protesters in influencing the decision.

Demonstrations have taken place in dozens of Polish cities, from Poznan and Lublin to Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw, and there have been calls for the protests to continue.

Mr Duda warned that no change should lead to a separation of the state from society.

What's wrong with the reforms?

Poland's judicial system is widely seen as slow and reforms are seen as necessary. "I'm absolutely a supporter of this reform, but a wise reform," said President Duda.

The three reforms give the justice minister and MPs broad powers and have prompted alarm from the US, as well as the EU.

The first reform requires all Supreme Court judges to step down and gives the justice minister the power to decide who should stay on

The second gives politicians control over who sits on the National Judiciary Council which nominates Supreme Court judges

The third gives the justice minister the right to select and dismiss judges in lower courts

Image copyright Reuters Image caption For days, Polish cities have witnessed large demonstrations against the proposed reforms

The president's initial compromise plan last week watered down the government's bid to push through its nominees for the National Judiciary Council, by requiring the support of another political party.

In his statement, the president said he regretted that a draft law on reforming the Supreme Court had not been handed to him before a vote in the lower house of parliament, the Sejm.

The president also took issue with the strengthened role of the justice minister, who also acts as attorney general in Poland.

What happens next?

In theory, the Polish parliament could now challenge the president's veto.

Law and Justice has a simple majority in the Sejm but needs a three-fifths majority if it decides to reject Mr Duda's decision. It could theoretically achieve that with the support of a smaller party, Kukiz'15, but that is not seen as certain.

A more likely step would be to spend the next weeks redrafting the two bills that the president has turned down and seek his approval. The protest movement has celebrated its success so far but is now pushing for the president to veto the third reform as well.

Much now depends on the man seen as the real power behind the government, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.</s>The Latest on Poland's president vetoing bills that would have given politicians influence over the Supreme Court (all times local):

Top members of Poland's ruling party say they are "surprised" and "disappointed" by President Andrzej Duda's decision to veto two bills that the party has considered crucial to its policies but which were seen as damaging judicial independence.

Duda, who hails from the party and on whose loyalty the party had counted, said Monday he was rejecting a bill on the Supreme Court and another one on a top judicial body.

Shortly after, some government members and party figures arrived somber-faced at the office of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the party's leader and policymaker.

Kaczynski told reporters he had "no comment" as he arrived.

Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki , who is also the economy, finance and development minister, said he was "surprised" and "disappointed."

The same words came from Deputy Parliament Speaker Ryszard Terlecki as he left the meeting, held behind closed doors. A large group of protesters chanted "shame" as the men left.

A spokesman for the European Union's executive says that European commissioners will discuss at their regular meeting on Wednesday their reaction to Poland's contentious bills that are seen as an assault on judicial independence and the announcement by the country's president that he will veto two of them.

Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas on Monday had no immediate reaction to the announcement by President Andrzej Duda that he will veto the bills, which have sparked widespread protests in Poland but have been approved by lawmakers.

Schinas says that "all events that are unfolding will be discussed globally by the college on Wednesday also in the spirit and within the context of the statement we issued last week."

Last week, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans warned that Poland could face a proceeding under Article 7 of the EU treaty, which makes possible sanctions in case of a "serious and persistent" breach of the EU's basic values. In theory, Poland could be deprived of its vote in the EU's council of governments, but such a move would have to be unanimously approved by member states.

The head of Poland's Supreme Court — the focal point of a legislative battle — says she has thanked President Andrzej Duda for his decision to reject contentious legislation seen as a threat to judicial independence.

Malgorzata Gersdorf met with Duda shortly after he announced his decision to veto bills on the Supreme Court and a top judicial body. Under the legislation that was to reorganize the court's work, all of its current judges were to be dismissed, except for those chosen by the justice minister and approved by the president.

Gersdorf said she has thanked Duda for his veto and that the meeting was in a "very friendly atmosphere."

She vowed "intellectual" support for Duda, who has said he will propose new, improved legislation but will first hold wide consultations with experts.

Poland's democracy icon and former president, Lech Walesa, says it was a "difficult and a courageous decision" for President Andrzej Duda to decide to reject two controversial bills seen as an assault on judicial independence.

The bills were crucial to the wide restructuring of the judicial system that the ruling populist Law and Justice is pursuing. With his decision Duda has defied the party that he has so far been aligned with.

Walesa said Monday that Duda "begins to feel like a president."

He called on the people to continue their days-long massive protests and make Duda also reject a third bill in the package on changes to the judiciary.

"We will either make them turn back or we will bring about a change," Walesa said referring to the ruling party.

Walesa said he was encouraged to see many young people take part in the protests that made Duda veto the contentious legislation.

Poland's president says he will veto two contentious bills that are widely seen as assaults on the independence of the judicial system and are part of a planned legal overhaul by the ruling party that has sparked days of nationwide protests.

In announcing his decision Monday, Andrzej Duda broke openly for the first time with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling Law and Justice party. Duda is closely aligned with the party and has supported its agenda since taking office in 2015.

Duda said he would veto two of three bills recently passed by lawmakers. One would have put the Supreme Court under the political control of the ruling party, giving the justice minister, who is also prosecutor general, power to appoint judges.

Duda said a prosecutor general should not have such powers.</s>Poland's President Andrzej Duda said Monday that he would veto two of three bills passed by parliament in a judicial reform that has triggered nationwide street protests and raised EU and U.S. concerns about a politicization of the courts.

Duda is an ally of the ruling right-wing, euroskeptic Law and Justice (PiS) party and, although he had threatened to water down one of the bills, his veto of a second bill was a surprise.

"I have decided that I will send back to the Sejm (lower house of parliament) - which means I will veto - the bill on the Supreme Court, as well as the one on the National Council of the Judiciary," Duda said.

On Saturday, the upper house had given final approval to a bill that would remove all current Supreme Court judges immediately except those hand-picked by the justice minister.

Parliament had earlier passed a bill giving it the right to appoint most of the members of the National Council of the Judiciary, which would nominate future candidates for the president to appoint to the Supreme Court.

"As president, I feel deep inside my soul that this reform in this form will not increase the sense of security and justice,” Duda said in a brief live statement.

The overhaul of the judiciary, coupled with a drive by PiS to expand its powers in other areas, including control of the media, has provoked a crisis in relations with the European Union and sparked one of the biggest political conflicts since Poland overthrew communism in 1989.

For many days, tens of thousands of protesters have been gathering in cities including Warsaw, Krakow and Poznan for candle-lit vigils, demanding that Duda veto the reforms.

The opposition and most legal experts say the changes violate the Polish constitution.

But the government has rebutted accusations that it is heading toward authoritarian rule. The PiS says the changes are needed to ensure courts serve all Poles, not just the "elites".

The EU executive, the European Commission, on Wednesday gave Poland a week to shelve the reforms, which Brussels says would put courts under direct government control. The United States, Poland's most important ally in NATO, also expressed concern.

Anna Materska, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, said Duda's move to distance himself from a flagship PiS policy after previously appearing closely aligned to the party could be a political watershed.

"What happened required courage, but president was backed against the wall and had no other option. This is a key moment in the events of the latest months, maybe even years."

Duda’s vetoes can in theory be overridden in parliament, but this requires a two-thirds majority, which PiS and its coalition partners are unlikely to be able to muster.</s>Poland's president will block a law that would allow the country's government to appoint supreme court judges of its choosing.

President Andrzej Duda announced he will veto two controversial new laws that were passed by the Polish parliament.

The move comes after days of demonstrations across the country in retaliation three new judicial reforms.

Before they can become law, they require approval by the president.

'As president I don't feel this law would strengthen a sense of justice,' Mr Duda addressed the country in television broadcast.

'These laws must be amended.'

While President Duda vetoed two laws, he passed a third that allows the justice minister to name the head of Poland's lower courts.

Poland had been faced with sanctions imposed by the European Commission if the reforms were not scrapped.

Donald Tusk, the European Council President and a former Polish prime minister, warned of a 'black scenario that could ultimately lead to the marginalisation of Poland in Europe'.

Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government — of which President Duda is a former member — strongly refuted allegations that the reforms would move towards authoritarian rule.

It added that it was disappointed with President Duda's veto, who last week stepped in to find a compromise.

It proposed that the government's bid to push through its nominees for the National Judiciary Council be watered down, by requiring the support of another party.

He also opposed the proposed strengthened role of the Justice Minister who, in Poland, also serves as the attorney general.

The president also spoke with his adviser Zofia Romaszewska, a dissident from the country's communist era who was jailed during ears of martial law.

She advised the president not to return to the days when 'the general prosecutor could do virtually anything', and told the media it was out of the question for the attorney general to take charge of the Supreme Court.

The country's opposition MPs welcomed the role of protesters in influencing the president's decision.

Protests and demonstrations had erupted throughout Poland's cities, including Poznan, Lublin, Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw.</s>Duda vetoed bills that give politicians power to remove judges and the justice minister to appoint court presidents.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda has announced he will veto two contentious bills that are widely seen as assaults on the independence of the judicial system and are part of a planned legal overhaul by the ruling party that has sparked days of nationwide protests.

In announcing his decision on Monday, Duda broke openly for the first time with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS).

Duda is closely aligned with the party and has supported its agenda since taking office in 2015.

"I have decided that I will send back to Sejm [lower house of parliament], which means I will veto the bill, on the Supreme Court, as well as the one about the National Council of the Judiciary," Duda said after days of mass street protests.

Duda was hand-picked by Kaczynski as the party's presidential candidate in 2015 and has loyally supported the party's conservative nationalist agenda, not vetoing any of its laws until now.

His step won the praise of members of the political opposition who had been urging him to veto the bills.

Thousands of protesters had taken to the streets across Poland in recent days to oppose the bill, including huge crowds who held a candle-lit protest outside the Supreme Court on Sunday night urging Duda to veto the changes.

The European Commission had threatened to halt Poland's voting rights over the proposed reforms - a so-called "nuclear option" that the EU had never invoked - while the US had also expressed concern.

The PiS, which began making changes to the judiciary after coming to power in late 2015, has argued resistance to the initiatives is a case of the elite defending their privileges.</s>In a surprise move, Polish President Andzrej Duda said Monday he was vetoing two judicial reform laws that cleared the nation’s Parliament Saturday that would have allowed the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) to consolidate power over the judicial system.

“I have decided to send back to Parliament ― in which case to veto ― the law on the Supreme Court, as well as the law on the National Council of the Judiciary,” Duda said in a news conference.

The proposed laws “would not strengthen the sense of justice in society,” he said, claiming they would instead amount to appropriation of the courts. “These laws must be amended.”

The legislation would have allowed the PiS to force the resignation of all of Poland’s Supreme Court justices and appoint its own members, as well as increase the party’s power over personnel decisions by the judiciary council.

Duda was widely expected to approve the bills, given that he hasn’t strayed far from the PiS’ populist, nationalist policies since he won the presidency as its candidate in 2015. He oversaw the passing of a law in late 2015 that hampered the country’s system of checks and balances.

Signs of resistance to the bills abounded. The European Union offered a stern warning about them to Poland last week. The European Commission’s first vice-president, Frans Timmermans, said approving them would “ruin the already tarnished view of Polish democracy.” He threatened the use of Article 7, which would suspend Poland’s voting rights within the EU.

The State Department warned on Friday that “the Polish government has continued to pursue legislation that appears to undermine judicial independence and weaken the rule of law in Poland.”

Poles protested the bills in more than 100 cities across the country on Saturday, and thousands took to the streets in Warsaw again on Sunday night.

Duda’s decision “has pulled Poland back from the brink of all-out assault on the rule of law,” Amnesty International said in a statement.</s>Warsaw, Poland (CNN) Polish President Andrzej Duda has surprised observers by vetoing two bills that would have given his populist government sweeping powers over the country's courts.

The controversial bills are part of a package of judicial reforms put forward by the ruling right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) and passed by both houses of Polish parliament last week.

The proposed reforms have prompted huge protests in the capital Warsaw and across the country.

"This law would not strengthen the sense of justice" in society, Duda said in a televised declaration Monday, the AFP news agency reported.

Crowds began to gather outside the presidential palace on Monday morning, waving Polish flags and chanting: "we did it" and "thank you!" The President's veto is a victory for Poles who turned out to protest in over a hundred cities over the weekend.

Critics had condemned the legislation as a blatant power grab by the PiS, which repeatedly insisted that it was simply carrying out needed judicial reform.

Key to the legislation was that current Supreme Court judges would be forced into early retirement and new judges appointed by the Justice Ministry.

The legislation was described by protesters as the beginning of the end of democracy in the Eastern European country, one of the first former communist nations to join the European Union.

In his speech, Duda appealed to the opposition to "change tack," urging protesters not to turn to violence.

"People can demonstrate in the streets, can show their dissatisfaction, but not resort to violence," Duda said. "I admit, that my decision can be controversial. But, I'm stating here that this law, which has been passed through parliament, will not come into effect," he added.

A poll conducted by CNN affiliate TVN last week found that 55% of Poles said Duda should veto the court laws; 29% said he should not.

Parliament has the power to override the President's veto, but it would require a three-fifths majority, which would be impossible for the PiS to achieve without the support of other parties.

The ruling party will now have to go back to the drawing board and re-envision its package of reforms.

Just before news broke that Duda would veto the legislation, Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Warchol voiced his concern that rejection of the bills could halt changes to a judicial system which he says is corrupt and inefficient.

"If the President vetoes the law we will have to discuss the new shape of the disciplinary procedures against the judges," Warchol said.

"We can talk about the new law, but one thing is certain -- the ethical standards will have to be restored, and the Supreme Court must stand guard over those standards, instead of moving a corrupt judge to a different court."

Later on Monday, the President's spokesman confirmed that Duda would in fact sign a third bill, which will give the Justice Minister the power to select the heads of Poland's lower courts.

The President's unexpected decision on Monday comes after both the European Union and US State Department voiced concerns over the legislation. The EU said that it would erode the judiciary's independence.

Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European Commission, last week threatened the use of Article 7, a mechanism that would allow for sanctions against Poland and possible suspension of its voting rights in the bloc. The measure has never been used before.

European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish Prime Minister from the opposition Civic Platform Party, warned last Thursday of "dangerous consequences" for Poland's standing on the world stage and said he had asked Duda for an urgent meeting.

"Bringing the courts under the control of the governing party in the manner proposed by the Law and Justice Party ... will ruin the already tarnished public opinion about Polish democracy," he said.

The public outcry over the plans had been partly overshadowed by recent high-profile visits to Poland by US President Donald Trump and the British royals.

But the US State Department tweeted a warning Friday to Poland "to ensure that any judicial reform does not violate (the) constitution & respects judicial independence."

When asked whether the Trump administration would urge Duda to veto the measure, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: "I am not aware if we will ask him to do that."
Polish President Andrzej Duda announces he will veto two judicial reform bills passed by Poland's parliament, which the European Commission said would result in sanctions, and which have generated continuous demonstrations across the country. The ruling Law and Justice Party needs to put together a three-fifths majority to override the veto.