The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Monday ruled that Poland’s reform of its Supreme Court was in violation of European law, which also confirmed its earlier ruling that the Polish Supreme Court’s disciplinary chamber was not independent or impartial.
Commenting on the court’s ruling, Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro cited allegations from French media that there is legal evidence that judges in the European Court of Justice have colluded with European Commission officials and European People’s Party (EPP) luminaries. He also pointed out previous media reports that the verdicts of the EU’s top court are decided ahead of time in collusion with powerful figures in the EU.
“Until the EU investigates the allegations made by newspapers that verdicts of the European Court of Justice are agreed upon at banquets and hunting trips with commission officials and politicians of the ruling EPP present, it will not be possible to treat the verdicts of this court as credible,” said Ziobro.
The Polish justice minister also noted that he had asked the EU commission head, Ursula von der Leyen, for an investigation into the allegations two years ago, but no action was taken. This means that all the verdicts of the court are under suspicion until the matter is properly investigated, according to Ziobro.
“This is how I have to treat this verdict. It looks as if it was dictated by politicians and is a blatant violation of EU treaties, with the ECJ usurping powers it does not have,” stated the Polish justice minister.
Ziobro added that “there is no country in the world he knew of in which judges could undermine the status of other judges” and accused the ECJ of bringing anarchy and chaos into Poland’s legal system.
He also noted that the challenges to a judge’s status only apply to current appointments, but not those who began their careers during the communist era and are still active in Poland.
“The only way I can explain such verdicts is that they were affected by the alcohol that flowed at the reported banquets,” he said.
