Duda signs controversial bill on lower courts

President Andrzej Duda has signed a bill that allows the justice minister, who is also the prosecutor general, to name the heads of all lower courts, despites protests from the opposition and citizens. The law was one of a trio of bills giving which ruling Law and Justice (PiS) claimed was aimed at reforming the Polish judiciary, but according to many would have given the government control over the country’s judicial system. The other two bills regarding Supreme Court and the National Council of Judiciary (KRS) were vetoed by Duda. His declaration followed days of demonstrations across the country, in which hundreds of thousands of Poles took to the streets in the capital, Warsaw, as well as other towns and cities, and held vigils in front of courthouses. It also drew criticism from the EU and other key Polish allies such as the US. The protests continued on Monday throughout Poland, demanding that Duda also vetoes the legislation on lower courts.