The Polish Supreme Court ruled that the measures taken by the European Court of Justice in response to the country’s disputed judicial reform are unconstitutional, and that the decision may have a profound impact on the legal order of the European Union.
Judge Stanislav Piotrovich said on Wednesday that the Polish Constitutional Court has reached a majority ruling that the EU’s measures on the “systems, principles and procedures” of Polish courts are “inconsistent” with the Polish Constitution.
The ruling came a few hours after the European Court of Justice once again requested the immediate suspension of a newly established body to supervise Polish Supreme Court judges, which has the right to cancel their immunity from prosecution or cut their wages.
The confrontation between the two parties is expected to intensify on Thursday, when the European Court of Justice will make another ruling on the legality of the Disciplinary Chamber, and the Polish Constitutional Court may announce in a broader and more explosive case whether it is about Polish law. Take precedence over the decision of the European Union. General law.
“We are gradually proceeding with legal Polexit,” Adam Bodnar, an independent Polish human rights monitor, said after Wednesday’s ruling.
Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council and current leader of the opposition Civic Platform Party, accused the ruling right-wing populist Law and Justice Party of “leaving the EU”, saying: “Only we Poles can successfully oppose this.”
However, Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ciobro stated that the decision of the Constitutional Court “opposes the intervention, usurpation and legal aggression of EU institutions.”
The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice requested Poland to suspend the Disciplinary Chamber for the first time last year. As part of a long-term lawsuit against Poland, the European Union said its far-reaching reforms are undermining the independence of the judiciary.
However, PiS insists that reforms are necessary to combat corruption and eliminate the lingering effects of the communist era in the courts, making them more effective, and that Brussels unreasonably interferes in its internal affairs.
Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta said: “In recent years, we have seen EU institutions such as the European Commission or the European Court of Justice violate treaties when they decide to interfere in the Polish judicial system.” This week.
Some experts say that Poland’s firm challenge to the primacy of EU law may mark Poland’s first step towards withdrawing from the EU-even though opinion polls show that EU membership is still very popular among Poles.
However, Laurent Page, a professor of European law at Middlesex University in London, said that the intention to withdraw from the EU would itself be a “political suicide”, but predicted that it would gradually “exit the EU legal order.”
The ruling in favor of Polish law over EU law should prompt the EU to “immediately demand daily financial sanctions…and suspend EU funding”, He said on Wednesday.
