You are here
Home > News > EC refers Poland to the CJEU ‘to protect Polish judges’

EC refers Poland to the CJEU ‘to protect Polish judges’

The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it has decided to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding the law on the judiciary of 20 December 2019, which entered into force on 14 February 2020. The EC wants to “protect the independence of Polish judges.”

EC determined to take ‘firm actions’ regarding Poland’s top court chamber

see more

The EC also decided to ask the CJEU to order interim measures until it has issued a final judgment in the case.



The interim measures consist of suspending “the provisions empowering the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court [SN]”, “the effects of decisions already taken by the Disciplinary Chamber of the SN” and “the provisions preventing Polish judges from directly applying certain provisions of EU law protecting judicial independence, and from putting references for preliminary rulings on such questions to the CJEU as well as the provisions qualifying action taken by judges in that respect as disciplinary offences.”

The commission has explained their action, stating that “Polish law on the judiciary undermines the independence of Polish judges and is incompatible with the primacy of EU law. Moreover, the law prevents Polish courts, including by using disciplinary proceedings, from directly applying certain provisions of EU law protecting judicial independence, and from putting references for preliminary rulings on such questions to the Court of Justice.”

We consider that the Polish law on the judiciary undermines the independence of Polish judges and is incompatible with the primacy of EU law.

We decided to refer Poland to the EU Court of Justice and we ask for interim measures until it has issued a final judgment in the case.

— European Commission ?? (@EU_Commission) March 31, 2021

“The EC’s request to the CJEU has no legal and factual justification. Regulation of the area related to the administration of justice belongs exclusively to the national domain, which results directly from the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the EU treaties, Piotr Müller, the government spokesman commented on social media after the EC’s decision. “Polish regulations do not differ from the standards applied in the EU,” he added.

Wniosek KE do TSUE nie ma prawnego i faktycznego uzasadnienia. Regulacja obszaru związanego z wymiarem sprawiedliwości należy do wyłącznej domeny krajowej, co wynika wprost z Konstytucji RP i unijnych traktatów. Polskie regulacje nie odbiegają od standardów obwiązujących w UE.

— Piotr Müller (@PiotrMuller) March 31, 2021

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Top