European Commission launches infringement procedure against Poland to protect judiciary

Today, 27 out of 72 Supreme Court judges face the risk of being forced to retire – more than one in every three judges – due to the fact that the new Polish law on the Supreme Court lowers the retirement age of the Supreme Court bench from 70 to 65.

This measure also applies to the first president of the Supreme Court, whose six-year mandate would be prematurely terminated.

According to the law, current judges are given the possibility to declare their will to have their mandate prolonged by the country’s president, which can be granted for a period of three years and renewed once. There are no criteria established for the president’s decision and there is no possibility for a judicial review of this decision.

The Commission said these measures undermine the principle of judicial independence, including the irremovability of judges, and that Poland therefore 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.

Given the imminent implementation of the new retirement regime for Supreme Court judges, the Commission decided to launch its infringement procedure as a matter of urgency.

The Polish government will have one month to reply to the Commission’s Letter of Formal Notice.