Senate OKs reform of top court in Poland

POLAND’S senate approved a controversial reform of the Supreme Court early on Saturday, despite warnings from the European Union, appeals from Washington and massive street protests against the measure.

The legislation, which was pushed through by parliament onWednesday, was approved by 55 senators, with 23 opposed and two abstentions.

The reform of the Supreme Court, which supervises lower courts, still needs to be signed by President Andrzej Duda, to become law.The head of state has 21 days to sign the document, veto it, or, if in doubt, submit it to the Constitutional Court.

The opposition say the measures increase the control of the executive branch of government over the judiciary.

Under the current system, candidates for the Supreme Court are selected by an independent body consisting mainly of judges but also included a few politicians.

The EU first warned Poland in 2016 over reforms of the Constitutional Court, the main role of which is to check that laws comply with the constitution. Those changes resulted in tilting the makeup of the court in the conservatives’ favour and installing a PiS ally as the chief justice.

Last week, both houses of parliament adopted two other contested pieces of judicial legislation, including a bill stating that the justice minister will name the chief justices of Poland’s common courts. The second bill stipulates that from now on the parliament, instead of an independent body, will choose the members of the National Council of the Judiciary, which is meant to protect the independence of the courts.