The European Union’s executive said it has decided to send an additional letter of formal notice to Poland regarding the continued functioning of a disciplinary chamber within the country’s Supreme Court.
The latest move adds “a new grievance to the infringement procedure” started in April against Poland regarding legislative changes affecting the country’s judiciary, the Commission said.
It added in a statement that, in its “additional Letter of Formal Notice, the Commission considers that Poland violates EU law by allowing the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court – the independence and impartiality of which is not guaranteed – to decide on further matters which directly affect judges.”
According to the Commission, “these matters include cases for the lifting of immunity with a view to holding judges criminally responsible or possibly detaining them as well as cases concerning labour law and social security for Supreme Court judges and cases concerning the retirement of a Supreme Court judge.”
The Polish government has one month to reply to the additional Letter of Formal Notice, the EU executive also said.
Long-standing legal wrangle
The European Commission on April 29 opened a fresh legal case against Poland over disputed new rules to discipline judges, the latest step in a long-standing feud over alleged rule-of-law breaches.
Poland’s parliament in January voted through new rules to discipline judges, dismissing claims by critics that the legislation could undermine judicial independence.
The European Commission said it was starting a formal infringement procedure and giving Poland two months to address its concerns about the new disciplinary regime, which it said could be used to punish judges critical of government changes to the judiciary.
Věra Jourová, the deputy head of the European Commission in charge of upholding the EU’s democratic values, was quoted as saying at the time that “there are clear risks that the provisions regarding the disciplinary regime against judges can be used for political control of the content of judicial decisions.”
A Polish government spokesman in December criticised an “off the mark” appeal by the European Commission for politicians in Warsaw to hold off from adopting the controversial law.
Two US Congressmen in January urged the Polish president to uphold his country’s "commitment to democratic values" and reject “dangerous judicial reforms.”
At the end of last year protests were held in dozens of cities across Poland by demonstrators critical of the planned legal changes, which critics say could enable politicians to remove dissenting judges.
Under the law, put forward by deputies from the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), judges could face penalties for challenging the appointment of those of their peers who took up their posts after the conservatives came to power.
Some of the proposals were later modified during parliamentary work.
Polish judicial system 'deeply flawed': PM
In late January, senior Polish officials slammed a Supreme Court ruling that judges recently appointed by the country’s governing conservatives were illegitimate and should not be allowed to hear cases.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that if judges were allowed to question the appointment or verdicts of other judges, the Polish justice system could be engulfed by chaos.
Poland's governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which came to power in late 2015 and won a second term in power in October last year, has argued that broad changes are needed to reform an inefficient and sometimes corrupt judicial system marred by communist holdovers.
The changes have triggered a series of clashes between Warsaw and Brussels.
The EU’s top court in April ordered Poland to immediately suspend a disciplinary chamber within its Supreme Court that critics have said could punish judges for their decisions.
The Polish prime minister said last year that some of the legal changes made by his conservative government have met with criticism abroad because they are not understood in Western Europe.
Morawiecki said in 2017 that his country’s judicial system was “deeply flawed” and that his ruling conservatives were elected with a mandate to overhaul it.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP, TVP, ec.europa.eu
