The government in Warsaw announced on Tuesday that the judges’ disciplinary body would be dissolved. This is planned as part of a further judicial reform that will begin “in the coming months”, according to a letter from the Polish government to the EU Commission published on Tuesday.
Vice Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski had recently announced this step. In an initial reaction, the EU Commission only confirmed that it had received the letter. How long it would take for its analysis and assessment was not disclosed.
The EU Commission had previously given Poland an ultimatum for this letter and also threatened financial sanctions. Because in mid-July the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Poland violated European law with its system of disciplining judges. The disciplinary body set up in 2018 at the country’s highest court does not offer all guarantees of independence and impartiality, the court found.
The chamber is at the heart of the judicial reforms initiated by the national-conservative PiS government. It can dismiss any judge or prosecutor. Critics of this facility fear that it could serve to reprimand judges for unpleasant decisions.
Appeal against injunction
Also in July, the ECJ issued an interim injunction calling on Poland to suspend the provisions authorizing the disciplinary body to rule on applications for the waiver of judicial immunity and on issues relating to the employment and retirement of judges.
In the letter to the EU Commission, the Polish government points out that the President of the Supreme Court has already ordered that the Chamber should no longer be entrusted with any new disciplinary proceedings. Nevertheless, an appeal was lodged against the interim injunction and an application has been made to the ECJ to revoke this injunction.
At the beginning of August, PiS boss Jaroslaw Kaczynski had already announced that the disciplinary chamber would be dissolved in its current form. At the same time, he declares that he does not recognize the ECJ decision because, in his opinion, it goes beyond the decision-making authority of EU courts. He announced that in September the government would press ahead with its plans to reform the controversial disciplinary body.
