Top Polish court rules Donald Tusk’s media overhaul is unconstitutional

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Poland’s highest court on Thursday ruled Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s overhaul of state media was unconstitutional, the latest pushback against the pro-EU leader’s sweeping attempt to reshape public institutions.

The constitutional court ruled in a case brought by the rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS) that the liquidation of state media — which Tusk said was a step in his planned overhaul — breached a constitutional article declaring Poland to be a “democratic state ruled by law”.

It was the latest ruling by the court against Tusk’s reform drive since he took power in the EU member state in December.

The court, which is dominated by judges appointed by the PiS while it was in office, last week barred lawmakers from forcing the PiS-appointed governor of the central bank to stand trial before a special tribunal that judges the eligibility of senior public officials for allegedly abusing his powers.

Tusk’s culture ministry said Thursday’s ruling on state media had “no legal significance” because of the court’s politicisation and called into doubt judgments issued by ‘double judges’ — the phrase Polish critics use to refer to people they think who should not be part of the judiciary.

“Judgments issued with the participation of so-called double judges do not have universally binding force and are not final,” it said, noting that the European Court of Human Rights in 2021 found Poland’s constitutional tribunal was no longer an independent court.

Tusk has pledged to restore the rule of law in Poland, but the PiS and President Andrzej Duda, a PiS nominee, have sought to turn the tables on his overhaul by arguing his coalition government is itself breaking the law.

Tusk’s revamp of state media, which he said had become a mouthpiece for the PiS, has emerged as a major battleground. Duda, a lawyer by…