EU takes Poland to court over judicial independence

LONDON

The European Union on Thursday filed a case at the European Court of Justice against Poland for violating the principle of judicial independence.

The move from the European Commission came following Poland’s nationalist government’s new measures to discipline the country’s judges.

The commission said in a statement it was acting “on the grounds that the new disciplinary regime undermines the judicial independence of Polish judges.”

"Judges are not insulated from political control and thus judicial independence is violated," it said.

In a Twitter post, the European Commission said: “For breaches of EU law, we pursue legal action against Member States for failing to comply with their obligations. We refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the EU to protect judges from political control.”

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party recently introduced a controversial new disciplinary regime, that for many, would not protect court judges from political influence.

Polish voters will go to polls next Sunday for general election for which the ruling party is favorite in opinion polls.

LONDON

The European Union on Thursday filed a case at the European Court of Justice against Poland for violating the principle of judicial independence.

The move from the European Commission came following Poland’s nationalist government’s new measures to discipline the country’s judges.

The commission said in a statement it was acting “on the grounds that the new disciplinary regime undermines the judicial independence of Polish judges.”

"Judges are not insulated from political control and thus judicial independence is violated," it said.

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party recently introduced a controversial new disciplinary regime, that for many, would not protect court judges from political influence.

Polish voters will go to polls next Sunday for general election for which the ruling party is favorite in opinion polls.