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EU launches new action against Poland to protect judges
BRUSSELS, April 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The EU on Wednesday launched fresh
action against Poland over its controversial judicial reforms, saying a new
disciplinary regime for judges would have a “chilling effect” on legal
freedoms.
In the latest round of the bitter tussle between Brussels and the right-
wing government in Warsaw, the EU said that under the new system judges would
be punished simply for doing their jobs independently.
Poland has been at loggerheads with the bloc over the sweeping reforms its
government insists are needed to tackle corruption and overhaul a judicial
system still haunted by the communist era.
The EU has already launched unprecedented proceedings against Poland over
“systemic threats” to the rule of law that could see its EU voting rights
suspended.
European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said a new
infringement procedure had been set in motion over disciplinary rules for
judges.
“The main objective of this disciplinary regime is — as with the rest of
the judicial reform — to systematically subject judges to the political
control of the executive,” Timmermans said.
Polish judges who have taken part in public debates or commented on the
reforms have been targeted by disciplinary officers, Timmermans said, along
with those asking for rulings from the European Court of Justice.
“All this has an obvious chilling effect on the activities of judges, and
this is incompatible with the requirements of judicial independence as
detailed by the European Court of Justice,” Timmermans told reporters.
“The position of individual judges is at risk, with the careers and means
of living being endangered for the mere fact of trying to do their jobs
independently.”
The commission, the bloc’s executive arm, will write to the Polish
authorities and expect a reply within two months, Timmermans said.
BSS/AFP/RY/1715 hrs