WARSAW, Poland (AP) A top European Union legal advisor argued Thursday Poland’s way of disciplining judges is contrary to EU law a view the Polish government denounced as a politically motivated attack on the country’s sovereignty.
Those were the latest developments in a nearly six-year dispute between the 27-nation bloc and Poland’s conservative, populist ruling party, which has reshaped the country’s justice system to give ruling authorities new powers over it.
The ruling party, Law and Justice, claims it is seeking to reform an inefficient system and corrupt judges but critics see that as a pretext for seizing control over the courts.
PORTO SUMMIT
LISBON. Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa hopes that the Social Summit in Porto on Friday will be a milestone in the EU history with the achievement of a general agreement subscribed by European institutions and, for the first time, social partners.
“If we succeed at the Social Summit to obtain for the first time a compromise in which the Council and the Commission sign an agreement with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), with Business Europe, which is the association of European SIBS, with the confederation of European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the confederation of general services companies, then it will be the first time in the EU history that there is a general agreement bringing together all social partners and European institutions,” Costa told
Polish judicial reform goes against EU law
World
May 7, 2021
LUXEMBOURG: A contested reform in Poland concerning disciplinary cases involving judges goes against European Union law, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice said on Thursday.
Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev said the legislation did not guarantee the independence and impartiality of a newly-established disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court. The Polish law on reforming the judiciary, which came into force in February last year, prevents judges from referring questions of law to the European Court of Justice and creates a body that rules on judges’ independence without regard to EU law.
The disciplinary system of judges recently adopted in Poland is “contrary to EU law” because it allows for disciplinary proceedings to be taken against judges based on the content of their decisions, the EU Court’s Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev said in an opinion published Thursday.
“The mere possibility that disciplinary proceedings or measures could be taken against judges on account of the content of their judicial decisions undoubtedly creates a ‘chilling effect’ not only on those judges, but also on other judges in the future, which is incompatible with judicial independence,” said Tanchev in a non-binding opinion.
The EU’s Advocate General also claimed that the system may seriously contribute to further undermine judicial independence in Poland, already weakened by other reforms introduced by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party since it came to power in 2015.
Полската система за наказване на съдиите най-вероятно нарушава правото на ЕС dnevnik.bg - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dnevnik.bg Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.