The European Commission decided on Wednesday 31 March to refer Poland and its judicial reforms to the EU Court of Justice again.
The “important decision” taken by the College, explained Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, this time concerns the ‘muzzle law’ on the disciplinary regime of judges, which came into force in February 2020 and was the subject of several reasoned opinions, the last of which was sent in January 2021, the Commissioner recalled.
The Commission also decided to ask the Court of Justice to order interim measures until its final judgment, as it had done for a first law on the disciplinary regime for judges (see EUROPE 12464/27).
The Commission considers that the ‘muzzle law’ constitutes an infringement of the principles of the Treaty and the independence of the judiciary, explained Mr Reynders.
The Commission was eagerly awaited on this issue, and the Commissioner had told MEPs in the Committee on Civil Liberties earlier in the month that a further procedure on this law was imminent (see EUROPE 12679/23).
More specifically, the Commission considers that the Polish act on the judiciary undermines the independence of Polish judges and is incompatible with the rule of EU law. It prevents the Polish courts, in particular through disciplinary procedures, from directly applying certain provisions of EU law protecting the independence of judges and from referring questions to the Court of Justice for preliminary rulings on these issues.
Poland is also “violating EU law by allowing the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court, whose independence is not guaranteed, to take decisions that have a direct impact on judges and the way they perform their duties, such as cases of lifting of immunity of judges, temporary suspension from office and reduction of their salaries as a result”.
The Court of Justice is therefore urgently called upon to suspend the provisions empowering the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court to rule on such requests for waiver of immunity or on questions of employment and status of Supreme Court judges. The effects of decisions already taken on the lifting of the judicial immunity of certain judges should also be suspended.
The decision was contested by the Polish government, which believes that there is no “legal or factual justification” for the referral to the Court of Justice, AFP reported citing the Polish government spokesman. Judicial reforms are “exclusively a national competence”, the government said.
The Commission’s decision was, however, welcomed in the European Parliament, especially in the Renew Europe group.
“The Polish government knows that it is acting against our fundamental laws, our treaties, but it continues to do so. The infringement proceeding announced by the Commission is therefore necessary”, reacted the group’s President, Romanian Dacian Cioloș, adding: “our hand must not tremble when it comes to defending the fundamental pillars of the EU”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)