Top EU court rules Polish Constitutional Tribunal is not independent

The EU’s top court ruled on Thursday that Poland’s constitutional tribunal was not “independent and impartial” because of political appointments under the previous conservative. Polish Government.

In its ruling, the Court of Justice of the EU said that the Polish Constitutional Tribunal had “violated the principle of effective judicial protection” and “disregarded the primacy, autonomy, effectiveness and equal application of EU law.”

The Constitutional Tribunal is the highest judicial body in Poland, responsible for checking the compatibility of laws, policies and international agreements with the national constitution.

Between 2015 and 2023, Poland’s former ruling party, law and justiceThe country’s judicial system underwent drastic changes, including establishing political control over top courts such as the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court. Supreme Court,

This put Poland on a collision course European CommissionThe EU executive, which challenged some of the reforms before the EU’s top court, suspended the payment of funds to Poland.

The Court of Justice of the EU said that the way the three judges and the President of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal were appointed under the Law and Justice Party called into question its status “as an independent and impartial tribunal established by law within the meaning of EU law”.

In theory, such a decision by the top EU court should trigger national reforms to restore the independence of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, which is a requirement for the country to be in the EU.

In practice, two consecutive justice ministers, appointed by a new liberal government that came to power in 2023, have failed to restore that court’s independence. The main reason is that Poland’s current and former presidents, both politically associated with Law and Justice, have either vetoed or promised to veto legislative changes that would reverse the reforms.

Poland’s Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek welcomed Thursday’s decision. “This decision forces our state to take action,” he said in a comment posted on Twitter.