Trybunał Konstytucyjny bez metalowych barierek

Źródło: Tomasz Zieliński/tvnwarszawa.pl

The ruling comes after the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has been embroiled in numerous conflicts with Brussels since coming to power in 2015, lost its majority in parliament in an Oct. 15 election.

An alliance of pro-European parties is set to form a government and has said it will improve relations with the bloc.

Poland had to pay hundreds of millions of euros in fines in two cases where the Court of Justice of the European Union imposed interim measures - one regarding a row with Czech Republic over the Turów coal mine and another over a disciplinary chamber for judges.

Dismissed by critics as a politicised body, the Constitutional Tribunal had already sparked a crisis in the European Union in 2021 by ruling that parts of the bloc's treaties are incompatible with the Polish constitution.

Later on Monday the constitutional court ruled that judicial reform legislation Poland needed to pass to access European Union funds was unconstitutional, complicating Donald Tusk's likely new government's plan to mend relations with Brussels.

Brussels has withheld billion of euros in COVID-19 recovery funds in a disagreement over Poland's rule of law, and has required reform on issues such as judicial independence and green energy before giving Warsaw the cash.