Parliament approves judiciary overhaul

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party passed a controversial legislation, giving the parliament control over the judiciary system. The new law, yet to be approved by Senat and President Andrzej Duda, lowers the retirement age for the Supreme Court’s judges to 65 from 70, effectively forcing the immediate removal of 40 percent of the currently appointed judges. The Supreme Court confirms election results and is the court of last appeal in Poland. The other would give lawmakers the right to choose 15 out of the council’s 25 judges, who so far have been selected by other judges. It also introduces the possibility to make a complaint regarding any court’s decision from the past 20 years. This was PiS’ second attempt to overhaul judiciary. The first one, back in July, was vetoed by PiS ally, President Duda, who claimed that they were in breach of the constitution.  The previous version gave the power to appoint top judges to the Minister of Justice, instead of the parliament. This time, it seems, that the president will sign the new law. “We are moving forward with reforms of the justice system, and the Supreme Court reform is an element of this process,” said Paweł Mucha, Duda’s advisor.