The European Court of Justice | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images | John Thys/AFP via Getty Image

ECJ to rule on Poland’s supreme court law

The Commission asks Luxembourg court to determine if Polish government has
violated ‘the principle of judicial independence.
By MAÏA DE LA BAUME
9/24/18, 1:30 PM CE

Updated 9/24/18, 4:27 PM CE

The European Commission asked the bloc’s highest court Monday to rule on the legality of a controversial
judicial law introduced by the Polish government, a move that could eventually result in significant fines.

The European Court of Justice will rule on whether or not the Polish government has violated “the principle
of judicial independence” with its law on the supreme court, the Commission said in a statement.

If the court concludes that Poland has violated EU laws and if Poland doesn’t comply with the ruling,
Warsaw could end up paying large financial penalties “based on the duration and severity on the
infringement and the size of the Member State,” according to the Commission.

The Polish government law, which took effect in April, imposes a lower retirement age, removing many of
the court’s judges, including its president. It also allows the country’s president to prolong the mandates of
judges affected by the new retirement policy if they ask for it. Critics say the law violates the Polish
constitution by handing politicians power over the country’s judicial branch.

“The implementation of the law … is creating a serious and irreparable damage to judicial independence in
Poland, and therefore to the EU legal order,” the statement said. “The Commission has therefore moved to
the next stage of the infringement procedure, deciding to refer the case to the Court of Justice.”

The request for interim measures, the statement said, are meant to “restore Poland’s Supreme Court to its
situation before April 3 2018,” the date the law entered into force.

In July, the Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland over the law but the
government “has failed to alleviate the Commission’s legal concerns,” the statement added. The Polish
Supreme Court has also asked the European Court of Justice to rule on the new law.

Last December, the Commission initiated so-called Article 7 proceedings against Poland, beginning a

process that theoretically could lead to Poland losing its voting rights in the Council. In reality, the
procedure has virtually no chance of success because Poland’s allies, particularly Hungary, have pledged to
block it.

h ps://www.poli co.eu/ar cle/ecj-to-rule-on-polands-supreme-court-law-judicial-independence/ consulted

24/09/18
 

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 Rule of Law: European Commission refers Poland to

the European Court of Justice to protect the
independence of the Polish Supreme Court
Today, the European Commission decided to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the
EU due to the violations of the principle of judicial independence created by the new
Polish Law on the Supreme Court, and to ask the Court of Justice to order interim
measures until it has issued a judgment on the case.

The new Polish law on the Supreme Court lowers the retirement age of Supreme
Court judges from 70 to 65, putting 27 out of 72 sitting Supreme Court judges at risk
of being forced to retire. This measure also applies to the First President of the
Supreme Court, whose 6-year mandate, set out in the Polish Constitution, would be
prematurely terminated.

The European Commission maintains that the Polish law on the Supreme Court is
incompatible with EU law as it undermines the principle of judicial independence,
including the irremovability of judges, and thereby Poland fails to fulfil its obligations
under Article 19(1) of the Treaty on European Union read in connection with Article 47
of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The Commission has therefore moved to the next stage of the infringement
procedure, deciding to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU. With its
referral, the Commission has also decided to ask the Court of Justice to order interim
measures, restoring Poland's Supreme Court to its situation before 3 April 2018, when
the contested new laws were adopted. Finally, the Commission has decided to request
an expedited procedure at the Court of Justice, to obtain a final judgment as soon as
possible.

The full press release is available online. (For more information: Mina Andreeva –
Tel.: +32 229 91382; Katarzyna Kolanko – Tel.: 32 229 63444)

h p://europa.eu/rapid/midday-express.htm consulted 24/09/18









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