MPs from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have submitted legislation that would introduce new disciplinary measures against judges, including the possibility to fire them. They say the tools are “a response to actions by part of the judiciary community”, and will be used to prevent abuses of power.
Opposition politicians have condemned the move as yet another attempt by the government to exert control over the courts, while one judge said that the new measures are akin to “the imposition of martial law in the judiciary”.
As reported by RMF FM this morning, the legislation, which is an amendment to the laws on common courts and the Supreme Court, would introduce severe penalties – ranging from fines up to dismissal – for judges who challenge the status of other judges or of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), the body responsible for nominating judges.
“The regulations provide for the possibility of dismissing judges who…undermine the KRS, the president’s prerogatives, or other judges,” confirmed PiS MP Jan Kanthak when announcing the legislation this evening.
The measures come after two recent rulings that have threatened to severely undermine PiS’s judicial reforms. Last month, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered Poland’s Supreme Court to assess the legality of the new KRS, which had been overhauled by PiS, and of the Supreme Court’s own disciplinary chamber, which had been created as part of the reforms. (See our guide to PiS’s judicial reforms.)
Consequently, last week the Supreme Court’s labour law chamber ruled that “the KRS is not an impartial and independent body, while the disciplinary chamber is not a court within the meaning of EU and national law”.
These judgements could cause further chaos in Poland’s judicial system, with disagreement over whether judges have been legitimately appointed, and therefore whether rulings issued by them should be treated as valid, analysts say. The new changes proposed by PiS are designed to “marginalise possible opposition from rebellious judges”, reports RMF FM.
“This is the imposition of martial law in the judiciary, an attempt to pacify how judges and courts are to rule,” said one judge, Bartłomiej Przymusiński, in an interview with Wirtualna Polska. Przymusiński is the spokesman for Iustitia, a judges’ association that has strongly opposed the government’s judicial reforms.
Borys Budka, the head of the parliamentary caucus of Civic Platform (PO), the largest opposition party, called the measures an attempt to “gag judges” that violates both the Polish constitution and the CJEU’s ruling. Anna Maria Żukowska, spokeswoman for The Left, said that PiS is trying to “get rid of judges…[who] defend the rule of law”.
The legislation would also empower the president to directly appoint a new head of the Supreme Court if the court’s own judges do not properly conduct the procedure for nominating candidates to the position, reports Interia. Sebastian Kaleta, the deputy justice minister, said that the measure is intended to prevent potential paralysis of the court after the current incumbent, an opponent of the government’s judicial reforms, leaves office.
Main image credit: Tomasz Pietrzyk/Agencja Gazeta
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
