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Today, one of the most controversial laws pbaded in Poland in recent years has come into force, which – with the exception of surprises or last-minute compromises – will make the Supreme Court an organ controlled by the government. For months, observers and badysts have warned of the danger of the reform, desired by the right-wing government that took office in 2015, which will certainly violate the principle of guaranteed separation of powers in all democracies modern. Yesterday, the European Commission announced that it had initiated an infringement procedure against the Polish government, but that it could do nothing to prevent the entry into force of the reform and its first effects.
The reform retroactively lowers the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 70 to 65, forcing 27 out of 74 judges to retire before their term expires. The government justified the reform by explaining its intention to reject part of the "caste" of the judges, considered ineffective and linked to the old communist ruling clbad. The number of judges of the Court will also be increased to 120, and all new appointments – both to replace retiring judges and to award new seats – will be decided by the Government, which, according to a preliminary preliminary estimate, could control Third parties of the Court
The 27 judges over 65 years old can request an extension of their mandate to the President of the Republic Andrzej Duda, who can decide at his discretion to grant it or not. Sixteen judges who would be forced to retire have already applied for an extension to Duda, while eleven others have refused. Among them is the President of the Court, Małgorzata Gersdorf, who has long denounced the government's attempts to control the body. Last week, three-quarters of the judges of the Court signed a document in which they pledge to recognize him as president until the normal expiration of his term in 2020, but they will be able to do little against forced removal which will certainly apply to the government. "I will go to my office on Wednesday, but if they let me in, it will be another story," said Gersdorf
The European Union has repeatedly discouraged the Polish government to approve such a radical reform. In December 2017, shortly after the Polish government's final approval, he announced that he had initiated proceedings for the application of Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty to Poland. This was an unprecedented decision in the history of the European Union: Article 7, which refers to the phrase "nuclear option" in Brussels, provides for a mechanism to ensure respect fundamental values of the European Union in serious threats. If the procedure had come to an end, Poland could have its right to vote in the European institutions.
The problem is that Poland has discovered the bluff: deprive a European state of its rights under Article 7, indeed, the unanimity of the other countries of the Union is necessary . Poland has many allies among the countries of Eastern Europe, with which it ultimately shares a more authoritarian conception of government and the state, and so never seriously concerned about concrete consequences. Konrad Szymański, the Polish deputy foreign minister, suggested that the European Commission opened the infringement procedure after finding that "it has not found a coalition". States wide enough to support his position against Poland ".
first time that Poland is fighting so hard with the European Union. Since 2015, the government has been guided by Law and Justice, a far-right party that has quickly approved several laws against freedom of information and women's rights, among others, which has become more and more critical towards Europe. In a recent interview of Spiegel in which he defends the reform citing various data on the inefficiency of the Polish judiciary, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki explains that he has no problem with the "ordinary citizens" but with "the European political elite and the journalists. "
The Polish government has one month to defend its position and prevent the Commission from referring the case to the European Court of Justice." Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, charged with leading Negotiations with the Polish government, said that he still hoped to find a compromise, but admitted that the Polish government did not seem willing to make any.
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