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The Polish government’s decision to rescind the forced retirement of several Supreme Court judges is a welcome sign of its willingness to improve compliance with the rule of law. This could begin a process to resolve the stand-off between Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS) government and the European Union. The decision to reverse the contested provision in the law, introduced in July, follows the European Court of Justice (ECJ) order last month to suspend the measure. The European Commission had earlier asked the Luxembourg-based institution to freeze the retirement move, pending a final ruling on whether Poland’s judicial overhaul was at odds with the bloc’s common policies. Brussels has in parallel launched a formal probe into Warsaw’s adherence to “fundamental European values”. Poland’s Supreme Court too had referred the contested provision to the ECJ to ascertain that there was no discrepancy between the national and European statutes. But the referral drew flak from PiS apparatchiks, who regard criticism of domestic policies by the EU as encroachment on Poland’s sovereignty. Since winning a commanding majority in 2015, the ultra-conservative government has undermined media freedoms and democratic institutions. The lower age of retirement, which in effect removed a third of the judges, was seen as part of a design to politicise the judiciary. This followed the subversion of the constitutional tribunal, which adjudicates the validity of laws. A 2018 statute that criminalises references to Nazi atrocities too drew condemnation as an assault on freedom of expression.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/rolling-back/article25582162.ece
