The highest judge despite forced retirement in the office

Malgorzata Gersdorf yesterday morning at the entrance of the Supreme Court APA / AFP / AFP PHOTO / WOJTEK RADWANSKI [19659005LeconflitsurlaréformejudiciairedugouvernementconservateurdedroiteenPologneestdevenuencoreplusaigu:MalgorzataGersdorfleprésidentdelaCoursuprêmearésistéhieràlaretraiteobligatoireLejugesuprêmedelaPologneestarrivéaubureauhierà8h15bienqu'elleaitofficiellementprissaretraitedepuisminuit

television l & # 39; a view go to the Supreme Court in Warsaw. "My presence here has nothing to do with politics, I'm here to protect the rule of law," said the 65-year-old man, surrounded by sympathizers and opposition politicians . According to Gersdorf, the reform, which has also been criticized by the EU, violates the constitution and therefore should not enter into force. She had announced that she would come to work because, according to the constitution, she should fulfill her six-year term until 2020. According to Gersdorf, the reform of the judiciary is a "political purge"

Retirement age was reduced

The highly controversial reform of the right-wing conservative government provides for a reduction of 70 to 65 years of retirement age. In addition to Gersdorf, there are still 24 other judges of the Supreme Court, unless President Andrzej Duda grants them an extension.

Already Tuesday, 4,000 people protested in the Supreme Court against the reform. The opposition accuses the ruling party "Law and Justice" (PiS) of undermining democratic values ​​and restricting the independence of the judiciary. European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Poland over justice reform

The government justifies the reform by allowing the dismissal of judges, who were still appointed under the communist regime.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki rejected any criticism when he appeared yesterday in the European Parliament in Strasbourg: "My country has the right to choose its own legal system, according to its own traditions."

Morawiecki complains that his government was treated differently than the previous government. "The judges in Poland today are much more independent than before" and the instructions of the Prime Minister are no longer possible, said Polish Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis: "The EU is finally a community of law. "Give him" a systematic threat to the rule of law, you can not close your eyes and say that it's purely national. "When the separation of powers weakens or that the Independence of the judiciary is threatened, the whole community is affected. "