Government rejects the “corrupt” European ruling against judicial reform

First modification: 06/05/2023 – 23:31

The verdict of the Court of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, “was not drafted by judges, but by politicians, because it constitutes a clear violation of European treaties,” said Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, adding that “the highest court of the European Union is corrupt”.

The European Union intensified its fight for the rule of law with Poland, an EU member state, on Monday when the bloc’s highest court confirmed that Warsaw had refused to comply with community rules on judicial independence, so it has already lost more of 500 million euros (535 million dollars) in fines.

The EU Court of Justice ruled that the 2019 Polish justice reform infringed EU law after the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, said the Polish Supreme Court lacked the necessary independence and impartiality.

“With today’s ruling, the Court confirms the Commission’s actions,” said a statement from the court.

It was the latest in a series of setbacks for Poland’s ruling conservative nationalist party, with many Poles furious at what they see as a dramatic erosion of democracy in the country. That sentiment spilled over into a massive anti-government protest in Warsaw on Sunday, probably the biggest demonstration in Poland’s post-communist era, with an election just around the corner in the fall.

Opposition leader Donald Tusk, who had called the march, estimated that 500,000 Poles turned out.

“Bad news for the government,” declared the conservative news portal ‘Do Rzeczy’ about the EU Court ruling. The state channel ‘TVP’, which acts as the propaganda arm of the ruling party, stated that the EU Court had exceeded its powers and “attacks Poland again. The Court exceeds its powers.”

However, the court’s decision was welcomed by lawyers and other legal experts who hope it can restore independence to the judiciary.

“The value of the Rule of Law is part of the very identity of the European Union”

The EU Court argued that “the value of the rule of law is an integral part of the very identity of the European Union as a common legal order and is materialized in principles that contain legally binding obligations for the Member States.” He said that Poland did not meet these obligations.

Amid a plethora of condemnations and criticisms, the court said that “measures thus taken by the Polish legislator are incompatible with guarantees of access to an independent and impartial court.”

Polish Minister for the European Union Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk said some parts of the ruling were no longer valid or had been repealed.

The court stated that Polish law obliges judges to disclose their association or party membership and allows such information to be made public. The court ruling said the provisions “could expose judges to risks of undue stigmatization.”

The disagreement over the functioning of the Supreme Court is just one of several disputes that the conservative government in Warsaw has with the EU institutions. He claims that the bloc is undermining Poland’s inalienable rights to make independent decisions.

Distance from the rule of law

EU institutions have insisted that Poland, under the populist Law and Justice party, has drifted away from EU rule of law principles.

The dispute centers on the independence of Polish Supreme Court judges when reviewing EU law.

Last week, the United States and the EU’s justice chief criticized Polish plans for another law that could bar political opponents from holding public office without full legal recourse. The EU threatened to take action if it became fully clear that such a law would undermine democratic standards.

In the fight centered on Monday’s ruling by the Luxembourg Court, Polish authorities have already had to pay some 550 million euros ($588 million) in fines since October 2021, when the system of one million daily fines began. of euros. Daily fines were cut in half in April.

In the legal standoff between Brussels and Warsaw, EU authorities are also withholding the release of some 35 billion euros ($37 billion) in pandemic recovery funds.

After the fall of the Soviet empire, Poland joined the EU along with other Central and Eastern European countries. Because they emerged from autocracy, they were for a long time models for other emerging democracies. Critics now say that Poland and Hungary are slipping back towards one-party authoritarian rule.

*With AFP and AP, adapted from its original in English