Judgment in Poland: "We are in the process of a legal polexit"

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Constitutional Court in Warsaw (April 2021): »Only we Poles can successfully oppose this«

Photo: Czarek Sokolowski / AP

The judicial dispute between Poland and the EU continues to intensify: on Wednesday the Polish Constitutional Court ruled that the orders of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against Poland's judicial reforms are incompatible with the Polish constitution. Judge Stanislaw Piotrowicz explained that the decisions of the ECJ on the “system, principles and procedures” of the Polish courts were “not in accordance” with the Polish constitution.

For years, the EU has been arguing with Warsaw over the judicial reforms of the right-wing nationalist ruling party Law and Justice (PiS).

Among other things, it is about a controversial disciplinary body at the Supreme Court, newly created in 2018, which oversees all judges, including those at the Supreme Court.

She can lift their immunity to enable prosecution and cut their salaries.

Tusk accuses the government of "leaving the EU"

In the opinion of the EU Commission, the independence of this chamber is questionable and represents a risk for the independence of the Polish courts. The members of the chamber are selected by the politically controlled State Judicial Council.

Brussels had therefore brought an action before the ECJ.

In April 2020, the latter ordered an urgent decision that the chamber had to suspend its work until the case was resolved.

On Wednesday, the Luxembourg court again issued a temporary injunction to the chamber.

Poland must immediately suspend the application of national rules on the competences of the disciplinary body.

Critics of the right-wing nationalist government warned against taking a step towards "Polexit" - that is, Poland's exit from the EU.

The new Polish opposition leader and former EU Council President Donald Tusk accused the government of "leaving the EU".

"Only we Poles can successfully oppose this," he wrote on Twitter.

Poland's independent ombudsman for human rights, Adam Bodnar, also warned: "We are in the process of a legal polexit that is taking place step by step." (You can read an interview with Bodnar here.)

The refusal to implement the judgments of the European Court of Justice in Poland is a clear step towards the country's exit from the EU, said the Dutch MEP Jeroen Lenaers.

"We fear that the Polish government is on the way to polexit."

Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, however, welcomed the verdict.

It was a decision "against interference, overpowering and legal aggression by organs of the European Union," he said.

In the ongoing dispute between the EU and Warsaw over judicial reforms, the Constitutional Court itself was also the subject of a controversial reform in 2016.

Critics at home and abroad complain that it is occupied by judges close to the PiS.

The Polish government argues that the reforms are necessary to tackle corruption and the legacy of communism in the Polish judicial system.

The EU Commission, on the other hand, is of the opinion that they are undermining the independence of the judicial system and the separation of powers in Poland.

The ECJ decides on the admissibility of the Polish disciplinary body

On Thursday the ECJ will announce its judgment on the admissibility of the controversial disciplinary body.

On the same day, Poland's constitutional court will continue its hearings on the sensitive question of whether the national constitution takes precedence over EU law.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had asked the Constitutional Court for a decision at the end of March.

The occasion was one of the ECJ rulings against the judicial reforms.

Experts see the possible confirmation of the primacy of national law over EU law as a step towards exclusion from the confederation.

Former Polish constitutional judges warned earlier this year that a ruling against the European Court of Justice would be “a drastic violation of the obligations of a member state and a further step towards the country's withdrawal from the Union”.

asa / AFP