Judicial reforms threaten Poland’s EU status, warns Polish Supreme Court

Government plans to improve the justice system could compel Poland to leave the European Union, the country’s Supreme Court has informed.

In a 40-page report, the Court recorded that recommendations offered by the ruling party Law and Justice, including the expulsion of judges who critical of the reforms, could endanger the precession of EU law over national legislation.

The PiS proposal is an “effort to require all judges to apply all the laws voted by the preponderance in power”, the Court said, even if a judge or a court determines that such laws are “inconsistent with above legal measures”.

“The incongruity between Polish and EU law will result in high probability to arbitration by organisations of the European Union for violation of EU treaties”, the Polish Supreme Court warned.

The PiS proposal authorises the dismissal of judges who might question the authority of another judge’s proposal as well as those whose activities may be seen as “administrative” or who are deemed to “undermine the workings of the judicial system”.

PiS has said its proposals will avoid chaos in the judiciary. However, Poland’s opposition says it is an “attempt to silence” dissent.

Helsinki Foundation was called by legal organisations and groups such as Human Rights and the Polish civic group Committee for the Defence of Democracy for demonstrations against the plans, to be held outside of the Polish parliament in Warsaw and courts in over 100 Polish cities.

Danuta Przywara, president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland, stated that progressing the reform program would mark the end of the division of powers and the return of all-powerful government that we have acknowledged at the time of Communist Poland.

The PiS project derives from a Supreme Court decision from the beginning this month, which commanded in support of legal guidance from the European Court of Justice which stated that Poland’s Magistrature Council, which nominates judges, did not ensure judicial independence from political power.