The Rule of Law in Poland: The European Commission opens a new procedure

Shortly? At the end of the text, there is a summary.

This is the next step in escalating the dispute over judicial reform in Poland: the European Commission on Monday opened a lawsuit against Poland for violating EU treaties. The reason is a law pbaded in April that the supreme judge should retire at the age of 65 instead of the previous 70. This would mean that Tuesday, 27 of the 72 judges would lose their jobs. Observers fear that the ruling PiS party will replace them with politically friendly people.

Poland is violating the measures against the EU treaty, said a spokesman for the European Commission: "We launched an infringement procedure.To defend justice." case is "urgent" and must be resolved as soon as possible, "to avoid irreparable damage to the Supreme Court of Poland."

Why only now?

However, this raises the question of why the Commission the dreaded dismissal of judges – initiates the infringement procedure. Because the danger has been known for months. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, for example, warned in December 2017 that part of the planned reform of the Supreme Court "would look strikingly at the institutions of the Soviet Union and of its satellites ".

Commission spokesperson hopes the problem could to be resolved in the long process of protecting the rule of law in Poland. "We still hope that the Polish authorities will change their minds and if that does not happen, the European Court of Justice will have to judge."

The Polish government now has a month to comment on allegations of breach of contract If the Commission is not satisfied with the answer, it can take the case to the European Court of Justice, arguing that the fact Authority has initiated the infringement procedure at the very last moment before the possible dismissal of the judges is a possibility In the end, the ECJ decided to reinstate the lawyers who had succumbed

Brussels and Warsaw hope a judgment of the ECJ

The European Commission has been opposing judicial reform in Poland for two years and has launched a number of infringement proceedings, the most recent. December due to new rules on retirement in ordinary courts For the first time, the Brussels Authority opened a rule of law procedure under Article 7 of the Treaties of the EU against Poland. In extreme cases, this could lead to the withdrawal of voting rights from Warsaw in the EU – but this is unlikely, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has already announced his intention to protect Poland's veto [19659014]. says political advisor Gerald Knaus of the European Initiative for Stability (ESI). If the Commission was reluctant to turn to the European Court of Justice, "it would show that an EU country can abolish the rule of law with the help of a single ally, without fear of consequences ".

It would be even more dangerous for the EU than Brexit. British, said Knaus, "If a member state leaves the EU legal order, it would be an internal exit that could have found imitators." Even in states like Hungary or Romania, the rule of law is under threat.

The Polish government also expects the CJE to make a final decision – and has confidence in the victory. The court will decide "the limits of the interference of EU law in the autonomy of EU members in their judiciary," said Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski. The responsibility for the recent escalation is pushing Warsaw to Brussels. "In our judicial reform, we have incorporated as a compromise 25 changes," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a recent interview. We have kept our word.

If more than a third of the current Supreme Court judges retired on Tuesday, including President Malgorzata Gersdorf, the next escalation is imminent. Gersdorf and his colleagues made it clear that they would not accept such a decision. They refer to the constitution, according to which the mandate of a president of the Supreme Court lasts six years. In Gersdorf it would be until 2020.

So it could happen Wednesday at the Warsaw Supreme Court to bizarre scenes. If Gersdorf and his colleagues appear as promised, they can be prevented by police from entering the building – in front of protesters and the media.

In summary: The European Commission has launched another infringement procedure against Poland. This time, it is the planned referral of many Supreme Court justices, to be replaced by fear of criticism by politically acceptable candidates. In the end, the European Court of Justice could judge the case.