Polish Supreme Court ruling: party spar on part of judicial reform

Tue, Dec 10, 2019
By publisher
2 MIN READ

Judiciary

THE Head of Poland’s Supreme Court, Malgorzata Gersdorf, on Tuesday contradicted governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, saying a chamber it set up to discipline judges “endangers the stability of legal order” in the country.

“One has to unequivocally state that continuing the activity of the Disciplinary Chamber seriously endangers the stability of legal order in Poland.

“The nation’s highest court ruled last week that the National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ), the body that nominates judges – is not independent and that the disciplinary chamber does not qualify as a court,“ Gersdorf said.

The ruling followed a Nov. 19 ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The ruling was up to Poland’s top court to determine whether its new disciplinary chamber is sufficiently independent to handle complaints brought by judges against early retirement.

Also, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, of the ruling PiS party said he would not allow judges to question the validity of appointment of other judges.

He, however, accused his critics of causing chaos and anarchy and undermining the right of Poland’s government to create new laws.

The judicial reforms introduced by PiS have also been the main source of contention between Warsaw and the European Commission.

However, the EU’s top rule of law official, Vera Jourova, promised to be in Poland as soon as possible to discuss the issues in question. (dpa/NAN)

– Dec. 10, 2019 @ 16:55 GMT |

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