EU considers part of judicial reform in Poland to be non-compliant

Published on : 07/15/2021 – 13:22

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on Thursday July 15 that the system of disciplinary sanctions against judges created in Poland was incompatible with European legislation.

This new disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court established as part of a reorganization of the judicial system by the nationalist power in place in Warsaw “does not provide all the guarantees of impartiality and independence”, declared the CJEU in a judgment .

The court noted in particular that justice is not immune to direct or indirect pressure from the legislative or executive powers.

The CJEU had already ordered Poland to suspend the decisions of this disciplinary chamber pending its judgment on the merits, but the Warsaw Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected this injunction, ruling it contrary to the Polish Constitution, calling into question the principle of primacy of European law on national rights.

The move moves Poland further away from the EU legally, an EU official noted.

LGBT + rights : EU launches discrimination procedure

The European Commission has also initiated new legal proceedings against Poland and Hungary for discrimination against LGBT + people.

The European executive explained Thursday that it had sent the two countries a letter of formal notice. This is the first step in a procedure which can lead to referral to the Court of Justice of the EU and then to financial sanctions. Budapest and Warsaw have two months to respond.

The European executive accuses Poland of not having responded to its concerns about certain municipalities or regions of the country which have declared themselves “zones free of LGBT ideology”.

Brussels has also started a showdown with Hungary over a law that prohibits schools from using any material that represents or promotes homosexuality and different gender identities.

With Reuters and AFP