EU in legal action over Poland court reforms
THE European Union announced on Saturday that it had launched legal action against Poland’s right-wing government over a new law that it fears will erode judicial independence.
The action escalates EU pressure on Warsaw over what Brussels sees as a growing threat, not just to democratic standards in Poland but across the bloc.
“The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland by sending a letter of formal notice,” the EU’s powerful executive said. It was sent after Poland published the law reorganising its ordinary courts on Friday.
The EU said Warsaw had one month to reply to the letter, which “raises concerns that . . . the independence of Polish courts will be undermined”.
The action eventually could lead to Poland being hauled before the bloc’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, and possibly fined.
The Commission has also warned of even tougher measures if the governing Law and Justice Party (PiS), which has raised EU concerns since winning the Polish elections in late 2015, forges ahead with deeper court reforms.
The EU move had been expected after Duda on Tuesday signed into law a measure allowing the justice minister to unilaterally replace the justices of common courts, which rank below the Supreme Court. However, Duda, a former PiS party member, stunned the government when he vetoed another bill that would have reinforced political control over the paramount court. He also vetoed a bill allowing parliament to choose members of a body designed to protect the independence of the courts.
Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has vowed to push ahead with all the reforms despite Duda’s vetoes.
The escalating standoff with Poland threatens to deepen an east-west split in the EU. Hungary itself faces EU legal action over laws targeting education and foreign civil society groups, while Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic also face action for ignoring the bloc’s migrant relocation quotas.
The Commission said the threat to judicial independence came from the Polish justice minister getting “discretionary power to prolong the mandate of judges who have reached retirement age as well as to dismiss and appoint court presidents”. Other concerns, it said, include “discrimination on the basis of gender” by setting the retirement age at 60 for female judges and at 65 for their male counterparts.