The verdict mainly concerns the suspension of the reforms in the bill regarding the Polish Supreme Court (SN), which forced its judges into early retirement at the age of 65. The ECJ delivered such a notion in October 2018, after the European Commission had filed a complaint about Poland. Now the ECJ has verified its previous verdict in their recent declaration.
“Poland is requested to immediately suspend practice of state laws which concern the lowering of the age of retirement for judges of the Supreme Court,” is written in the decree.
#Praworządność: Polska zostaje zobowiązana natychmiast zawiesić stosowanie przepisów krajowych dotyczących obniżenia wieku przejścia w stan spoczynku sędziów Sądu Najwyższego pic.twitter.com/EYCbzxjw11
— EU Court of Justice (@EUCourtPress) December 17, 2018
On November 21st, Poland’s parliament passed the legislation bowing to the initial EU court ruling. On Monday evening President Andrzej Duda signed the amendments.
The European Commission has been locked in a bitter battle over sweeping judicial changes introduced by Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government since it took office in 2015. The showdown has led the EU to trigger unprecedented proceedings against Poland over “systemic threats” to the rule of law that could eventually see its EU voting rights suspended.
