President Duda signs court reforms bill into law

Poll: Law and Justice party and justice system reforms

Źródło: TVN24

President Andrzej Duda has signed the bill amending the Law on Common Courts and the Law on the Supreme Court - president's spokesperson Błażej Spychalski informed on Tuesday. The controversial changes have been widely contested both in Poland and across Europe, with many institutions, such as the Venice Commission and the EU Commission, calling upon Poland not to adopt the legislation.

The bill which now has become the law would allow judges who criticise the government's reforms to be disciplined.

The ruling PiS party says the bill, which was rejected by the opposition-controlled Senate, is necessary to avoid chaos in the legal system, as some judges have started questioning the legality of the appointment of others.

But Brussels, human rights activists and lawyers believe the bill is designed to stop criticism of the government's wide-ranging reforms, which they say aim to increase government control over the judiciary.

Furthermore, the amendment introduces changes in the procedure of appointing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Each Supreme Court Justice will now have the right to put forward their own candidates for this position. In case of lack of quorum, in the last stage of the procedure, presence of 32 Justice would be enough to appoint the Chief Justice.

The new regulations have been strongly criticised by the opposition and many members of judicial circles, who had called on President Duda not to signed the bill.

Also among the critics of the new law was the European Commission, the Venice Commission, many judges from across Europe, as well as members of the U.S. Congress.