EU gives Poland one month to reverse controversial judicial reforms before facing CJEU

The European Commission has given Poland one month to take measures to undo controversial judicial reforms before it takes the country to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The Commission said the response from the Polish authorities to the letter of formal notice it issued at the start of July did not alleviate its legal concerns.

The high-level EU intervention concerns reforms reducing the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 70 to 65, which means 27 of 72 sitting Supreme Court judges could be forced to retire.

The measure also applies to the First President of the Supreme Court, whose six-year mandate, set out in the Polish Constitution, would be prematurely terminated.

Under the new law, judges affected by the lowered retirement age are given the possibility to request a prolongation of their mandate by the President of the Republic, which can be granted for a period of three years, and renewed once.

There are no criteria established for the President’s decision and no judicial review is available if the request is rejected.

The Commission believes the reforms are incompatible with EU law as they undermine the principle of judicial independence, including the irremovability of judges, and thereby Poland fails to fulfil its obligations under article 19(1) of the Treaty on European Union read in connection with article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.