EC, Poland uphold stand on Supreme Court laws
Poland and the EC at Tuesday's hearing before the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) upheld their respective stands regarding the Commission's complaint against laws regulating Poland's Supreme Court.
According to the EC, the complaint, which concerned regulations lowering the retirement age for Supreme Court judges to 65 and the resulting forced retirement of a large number of the court's judicial staff, warrants a verdict by the CJEU. Poland says it should be dropped as the contested regulations have since been changed and the retired judges restored to their seats.
The EC has decided to uphold its charges on grounds that the original changes in the Supreme Court regulations violated EU laws and infringed on judicial independence. EC representative Saulius Kaleda said a verdict in the matter lay "in the EU's basic interest", even if Poland has since amended the laws.
Kaleda stressed that all EU members were obliged to respect EU treaties and the independence of judges, and in this context reminded that the Polish Supreme Court was also an EU court.
Poland's position in the matter was backed by Hungary.
In December 2017, the EC launched the EU Treaty's Article 7 rule-of-law procedure against Poland over justice reforms which, in its opinion, infringed on the independence of courts, and included changes in retirement rules for Supreme Court judges. The procedure could potentially lead to sanctions for Poland, including the loss of its EU voting rights, but all EU countries would have to agree. (PAP)
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