European Commission launches legal procedure against Poland over judiciary overhaul

The European Commission launched legal action on Saturday against what it sees as Polish government attempts to undermine the independence of judges, giving Warsaw a month to respond. The Commission is concerned about the discretionary power given to Poland's minister of justice to prolong the mandates of judges who reach retirement age, as well as to dismiss and appoint court presidents. “The new rules allow the minister of justice to exert influence on individual ordinary judges through, in particular, the vague criteria for the prolongation of their mandates thereby undermining the principle of irremovability of judges,” the European Commission said in a statement. Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans sent a letter on Friday to Poland's foreign minister reiterating an invitation to him and the justice minister to meet in Brussels to relaunch dialogue. Polish Foreign Ministry responded with a statement saying that it is ready to talk, but “the organisation of the judiciary falls within the competence of the member states.” Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) government implemented three bills which, according to them, would reform the Polish judiciary system. One bill would force the immediate retirement of all Supreme Court Judges, and replace them with the candidates picked by the justice minister. The second law concerned the National Council of Judiciary (KRS) which would terminate its members' terms with new ones picked by the parliament. The Council has powers to nominate judges, while the Supreme Court confirms the validity of elections, among other tasks. Both of the laws were vetoed by President Andrzej Duda. The third one, which allows the justice minister to appoint judges to lower courts was signed.