EU infuriates Poland as it demands European Court of Justice BLOCKS law change
THE European Union has demanded the European Court of Justice (ECJ) freeze Poland’s radical overhaul of its judicial system in order to prevent “irreparable damage” to the country’s law and order system.
Poland supreme court: Thousands protest against reforms
Brussels has already intervened, last week suspending Poland from the EU’s Judiciary Council over controversial changes to its rule of law, enforced by Poland’s right leaning Law and Justice (PiS) government.
The country enforced reforms to its court system that give politicians the power to overrule judiciary systems, which has sparked protests in Poland and an ongoing feud with the Brussels.
The European Commission (EC) said Warsaw’s changes to the country's rule of law “undermined the principle of judicial independence” and said it would take the matter to the ECJ.
A Brussels source said: “Implementation of the contested retirement regime for Supreme Court judges in Poland is being accelerated and is creating a risk of serious and irreparable damage to judicial independence in Poland, and therefore of the EU legal order."
The controversial powers include an overhaul of Warsaw's Supreme Court, including a cut in the retirement age for judges – meaning a third of the country’s judges, including its head, were forced to retire.
The government is also replacing “retired” judges with its own nominees.
Judges who have criticised the changes to the judicial system, which came into effect in April, are subject to disciplinary proceedings.
The right-leaning government has also tightened its grip on media and controls over non-government groups since coming in to power in 2015.
But following the decision to trigger Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland in December, the bloc is establishing if Warsaw is in breach of EU principles on its rule of law.
In August, Polish deputy prime minister Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki said the country “could ignore” an ECJ ruling against its reforms, which provoked fierce criticism from opponents of the drastic measures.
But on Monday, Speaker of the Polish Senate Stanislaw Karczewski, was vague on how the government would respond to intervention from the ECJ.
Mr Karczewski said: “The government has very strong arguments, substantive, legal. I am convinced that this complaint will be rejected.”
Earlier this month, Poland’s minister for European Affairs, Konrad Szymanski, said he would defend the changes brought about by his conservative government.
Mr Syzmanski said: "I can only hope that, like in June, the hearing will be a factual exchange of views on what is and what isn't in line with European law, or European standards.
"We plan to defend the solutions adopted by the Polish parliament.”