The almost 100-page document has already been submitted by the United Poland party to parliament, the state PAP news agency reported.
Under the plan, Poland's Supreme Court would be reduced in scale, with fewer justices and a narrower scope of cases to hear.
The court would consist of two chambers, focusing on public and private law, and no more than 30 judges, according to PAP.
“This bill aims to give the Supreme Court an internal structure in a way that is uncontroversial and, at the same time, allows for the continuation of judiciary reforms,” its drafters wrote.
They added that they had sought to develop provisions that “would enjoy as wide a support as possible” and “wouldn’t slow down the current reform of the justice system.”
United Poland’s leader, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, said last week that the bill would “streamline the functioning of the Supreme Court, but also make sure that Poland retains all its rights in the field of the justice system,” the PAP news agency reported.
Disciplinary chamber to be scrapped
The authors of the draft legislation said that “the bill scraps the disciplinary chamber, which has attracted the biggest controversy among sections of the public and in international institutions.”
Disciplinary cases involving members of the various legal professions would be heard by a newly established Chamber of Public Law, United Poland said.
The current disciplinary chamber is the main bone of contention in Poland’s dispute with the European Commission over the rule of law.
According to critics, the chamber is a politicised body penalising judges who oppose Warsaw's judicial reforms, the Reuters news agency reported.
The bill filed by United Poland is the latest in a spate of reform proposals recently submitted to parliament.
Earlier this month, President Andrzej Duda, the main governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, as well as the opposition have all unveiled their own plans for reshaping Poland's Supreme Court, PAP reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters