The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the changes introduced in the education strategy concerning the organisation of spiritual lessons were incompatible with the existing education strategy rules. The regulation issued by Minister Barbara Nowacka included, among others, a provision establishing only 1 lesson of religion in schools.
The Constitutional Court's ruling on changes in the organisation of spiritual lessons is the answer to the appeal lodged in July. They were submitted by the president of the ultimate Court of Margaret Manowska. This request was made in consequence to a petition prepared by the Bureau of the Polish Episcopal.
And the president of the ultimate Court accused, among others, that the regulation violates the constitutional rule of "consensual way of regulating relations between the State and the Churches" and that it is incompatible with the Law on the Education System, as it defines the conditions and manner of organizing the discipline of religion in a way incompatible with the content of the statutory delegation. This violates, among others, the constitutional provisions governing the issuance of regulations.
The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the decree of the Minister Barbara Nowacka was incompatible with the provision of the Law on the Education System, which states that the Minister of Education sets out by regulation the conditions for the organization of the discipline of religion in agreement with the authorities of churches and spiritual associations. The Regulation was issued on the basis of this provision.
The Court besides found that the Regulation violates this provision in connection with the provisions of the Constitution which state, inter alia, that ‘the regulations are issued by the authorities designated in the Constitution, on the basis of the detailed mandate contained in the Act’ and the constitutional principles that ‘Rzeczpospolita Polska is simply a democratic legal state’ and ‘public authorities operate on the basis and within the limits of the law’. The Court decided to dismiss the case to the remainder.
In the message of reasons, the Judge-Rapporteur Prof. Krystyna Pawłowicz said, among others, that the applicant raised a general charge of failure by the Minister of Constitutional Education and the statutory procedure required for the adoption of this regulation and of non-compliance with the rule of democratic regulation of law and the rule of legalism.
"A negative assessment by the Constitutional Court in this case prejudged the non-constitutionality and the Education strategy Act of the Minister of Education of 26 July 2024 in its entirety", said justice Pawłowicz. She added that the Minister of Education, among others, did not meet the request to act in agreement with representatives of churches and spiritual unions by making a decision unilaterally, ignoring the positions of representatives of the Catholic Church and another churches and spiritual associations.
"The consequence of the Court's judgement in the present case is the failure of force of the contested regulation in its entirety", she added, adding that the Minister of National Education's Regulation of 14 April 1992 regains its earlier wording.
Judge Pawłowicz said that the Minister of Education Barbara Nowack informed the Constitutional Tribunal in writing that he would not take a substantive position on the matter, citing the resolution of the Sejm of 6 March 2024 to remove the effects of the constitutional crisis. She assessed that this is evidence of rejection of the Polish legal order. She added that the lawyer General in turn did not take any position in the case and left unanswered correspondence addressed to him by the Constitutional Tribunal.
Source: PAP
WMa
