Judges association: disciplinary chamber must immediately stop repressing judges

The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling on Thursday regarding the Disciplinary Chamber of Poland's Supreme Court. The CJEU found that Poland had failed to fulfil its obligations deriving from EU law.

"This means that not only proceedings launched against Polish judges cannot be continued, but also measures taken are nullified," the head of the Polish Judges Association "Iustitia" Krystian Markiewicz of the University of Silesia told TVN24 on Thursday. He explained that "persons such as judge Paweł Juszczyszyn, who has been suspended in duties over 500 days now, must now be allowed to adjudicate again".

He added that "all proceedings launched on the orders of the chief of the Supreme Court's Disciplinary Chamber must be discontinued". "Poland has been ordered to immediately halt applying regulations allowing the Disciplinary Chamber to repress Polish judges."

Markiewicz also warned that Poland might be facing daily penalties worth millions for not complying with the CJEU ruling.

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki commented on the ruling by the CJEU at a press conference later on Thursday. "We've based the reform of the justice system on solutions very similar, often identical, to those of other EU member states" - he said.

He argued that the European Commission accused Poland of politicising the judiciary, but had no concerns regarding similar situation in other countries. "If that's the case, then how should we understand the German procedure, in which politicians appoint judges? We have the National Council of the Judiciary, which looks pretty much the same as the one in Spain. The Spanish one has functioned for many years and bothered no one, we create a very similar one and yet concerns are raised. I cannot stand for such discrimination" - Morawiecki stressed.

The prime minister also convinced that "it's not the executive who has influence on the Supreme Court", but the high court itself.