ECJ order: Poland must end its judicial mandate

As a result of its in-depth judicial reform, Poland had retired several judges, including the President of the Supreme Court. The ECJ decided: The measure must be stopped.

Poland must put an end to the controversial retirement of judges, with immediate effect. A corresponding interim order has been issued by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. It also applies retroactively to judges already retired, whose work must be made possible until the final verdict. Moreover, the renominations can not be made for the moment.

As a result of its controversial judicial reform, the country withdrew several judges. In this case, it is a law of the Supreme Court. With him, the retirement age of judges is reduced from 70 to 65 years. Since the beginning of July, politicians have used more than 20 retired judges. The most striking example is Malgorzata Gersdorf, president of the Supreme Court, who sees the order motivated by political considerations and rejects it.

Slip for the Polish government

The other EU Member States warned Poland against restructuring its judicial system, which would greatly increase the influence of PiS's ruling party on the country's jurisdiction.

The authority responsible for prosecuting violations of EU law believes that forced retirement is contrary to the principle of the independence of justice. It also undermines the principle of the irremovability of judges, according to Brussels.

For the Polish government, the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Communities is considered a serious recession. She has been arguing for months that her controversial judicial reforms do not violate the law of the Union.