02/10/2024 Session | Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs
Following a request addressed to the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) by the Public Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Poland, the Assembly today decided to waive the immunity of PACE member Marcin Romanowski (Poland, EC/DA) “to allow justice to be administered”.
After considering whether the request was serious - namely that it should not be inspired by reasons other than the dispensing of justice - the parliamentarians stated that “there are no sufficient reasons to doubt the genuine intention of the prosecution” against Mr Romanowski, as aiming solely at the proper administration of justice.
Adopting a resolution based on a report by Heike Engelhardt, (Germany, SOC), the Assembly observed that the alleged offences do not concern opinions expressed or votes cast by Mr Romanowski in the exercise of his functions as a PACE member. The request concerns facts which relate to “activities of a local nature prior to the acquisition of the status of, and consequently immunity as, a member of the Parliamentary Assembly”.
“Immunity is not accorded for the personal benefit of the individual Assembly member,” the parliamentarians recalled, but “to guarantee the independence and integrity of the Parliamentary Assembly as a whole and of its members in the exercise of their functions”.
The Assembly regretted that Mr Romanowski did not avail himself of the opportunity offered to him to be heard by the PACE Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, or to be represented by any member of the Assembly.
It also expected the Polish authorities to ensure that the “administration of justice be fair and impartial”, in full respect of the national law and the guarantees provided by the European Convention of Human Rights.