Poland threatened with €1 mln a day of financial penalty

Today is the deadline by which Poland must respond to the decision of the CJEU of mid-July, ordering the complete suspension of the activities of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. Otherwise, the European Commission has already announced that it will propose a financial penalty.

"This fine may be as much as €1 million a day," prof. dr hab. Marek Chmaj, lawyer and constitutionalist, stressed.

As he pointed out, if the CJEU's decision is not implemented, Poland must also take into account the loss of voice in EU institutions and problems with the payment of funds from the Reconstruction Fund. Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court is still hearing the cases.

"The Polish government should be guided by the treaties of the European Union and the Polish Constitution. There cannot be a situation in which the prime minister – commenting on the ruling of the CJEU, the Council of Europe, or the tribunal in Strasbourg – says: << We will implement our program regardless of the troubles along the way because we believe that we are right >>. This is wrong thinking. The ruling party can pursue its agenda, but according to the rules that are contained in the current legislation. It is like playing football: we can play if both teams respect the same rules and the game is based on equal opportunities. If one of the teams introduces 10 additional players and replaces the referees with those who favor them, there is no question of playing football," prof. dr hab. Marek Chmaj added.

In mid-July, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the system of disciplinary liability of judges in Poland is not consistent with EU law. He denied the independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court and the possibility of calling judges disciplinarily accountable, as well as the competencies of the president of the Disciplinary Chamber to appoint a composition competent to hear such cases. In the opinion of the CJEU, the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court cannot be considered an independent and impartial tribunal. The CJEU thus upheld all the allegations of the European Commission, which in 2019 submitted a complaint to Luxembourg, finding that Poland had breached EU law.

In the ruling of the CJEU of 14 July this year, Poland was also again obliged to immediately suspend the application of national provisions regarding the powers of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. This happened for the first time in March last year, when the tribunal accepted the EC's request for interim measures and ordered the suspension of the activity of this chamber. However, the decision was only partially enforced as the Disciplinary Chamber did not deal with disciplinary cases, but continued to issue resolutions suspending the immunity of judges.

(Newseria)