European Union: Commission refers Poland to court over disciplinary proceedings

Shortly before the parliamentary elections in Poland, the EU Commission is launching another lawsuit against the European Court of Justice against the judicial reforms of the right-wing conservative government in Warsaw. The lawsuit is against the new rules on disciplinary action against judges, the commission said in Brussels. The rules undermine the independence of Polish judges, the necessary protection against political control is not guaranteed.

The commission had already complained about the new regulations in April and was not satisfied with the subsequent justifications from Warsaw. The authority criticizes that disciplinary measures against judges can be opened on the basis of their judgments. The independence and impartiality of the competent disciplinary board of the Supreme Court was not guaranteed.

The EU Commission had already brought several cases before the European Court of Justice because of various legal reforms of the right-wing conservative ruling party PiS. In addition, in 2017, it initiated a rule of law procedure under Article 7 of the EU treaties against the country. This is far more profound than a lawsuit before the ECJ. In the final analysis, voting rights can be temporarily withdrawn from a concerned EU state. However, the process has barely progressed so far.

In Poland, a new parliament will be elected on Sunday. According to surveys, the PiS has good prospects for electoral success.