The establishment of the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka U 3/17
The establishment of the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka U 3/17
‘When rendering the regulation establishing the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka legally ineffective, the Council of Ministers did not adhere to the procedure for issuing a revocation regulation, as no consultation had been carried out with the residents of the units of local self-government to which the latter regulation pertained,’ stated the Constitutional Tribunal.
On 1 June 2017 at noon, the Constitutional Tribunal publicly delivered its ruling, issued at a sitting in camera, with regard to the application of a group of Sejm Deputies concerning the establishment of the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka.
The Constitutional Tribunal adjudicated that the Regulation of 28 December 2015 issued by the Council of Ministers to revoke the regulation establishing the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka was inconsistent with:
a) Article 7 and Article 92(1) of the Constitution;
b) Article 4a(1) of the Act of 8 March 1990 on the Self-Government of Communes.
Moreover, the Tribunal decided to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.
The ruling was unanimous.
When rendering the regulation establishing the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka legally ineffective, the Council of Ministers did not adhere to the procedure for issuing a revocation regulation, as no consultation had been carried out with the residents of the units of local self-government to which the latter regulation pertained.
In the Tribunal’s view, the carrying out of previous consultation that concerned the issuance of the regulation establishing the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka did not justify the fact that the Council of Ministers did not consult the subsequent revocation of the said regulation with the residents. The consultation concerning the establishment of the communes was held for a different purpose than the one underlying the issuance of the revocation regulation. For that reason, one may not deem that the revocation regulation met the requirements provided for in authorisation provisions included in the Act on the Self-Government of Communes, and consequently – the requirements set out in Article 92(1) and Article 7 of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Tribunal also pointed out that the revocation regulation was dated 28 December 2015. This means that it had been issued right before the entry into force of the regulation establishing the communes of Szczawa and Grabówka, which had been planned for 1 January 2016.
According to the Tribunal, such law-making activity of the Council of Ministers raises reservations as to its conformity to the principle of the protection of citizens’ trust in the state and its laws.
All those irregularities in the course of issuing the revocation regulation resulted in the Tribunal’s ruling on the unconstitutionality of the said regulation.
The hearing was presided over by Judge Michał Warciński, and the Judge Rapporteur was Judge Mariusz Muszyński.