Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Poles protest outside parliament in Warsaw

Thousands of Poles have held rallies in the capital Warsaw and other cities to condemn a controversial reform of the judiciary.

Protesters say the bill, passed by the Senate on Saturday, will erode judges' independence and undermine democracy.

It gives MPs and the justice minister the power to appoint judges without consulting judicial circles.

The government says the move is needed because the judiciary is corrupt and serves only the interests of elites.

The bill must still be signed by President Andrzej Duda in order to become law. He has given no indication that he plans to veto it.

Since it came to power in 2015, the government of the conservative, populist Law and Justice party (PiS), has passed a series of controversial reforms, triggering mass protests.

How deep is opposition to the reform?

Opposition supporters and human rights activists gathered in Warsaw under Polish and EU flags, and other banners, blowing klaxons, in a demonstration which continued after dark.

Police say about 4,500 people turned out in the capital while another estimate puts the number closer to 10,000. Smaller rallies were held in Krakow, Katowice and elsewhere.

Chats of "shame, shame" and "we will defend democracy" could be heard, correspondents say.

Instead of Law and Justice, one placard in Warsaw read "Lawlessness and Injustice", the BBC's Adam Easton reports from Warsaw.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Grzegorz Schetyna addressed the crowd, with Ryszard Petru at his side

Opposition leaders like former Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna of Civic Platform and Ryszard Petru of the Modern party took to the stage in Warsaw.

"Today we know that a great fight has begun and we know we must be together, we know we must fight against them together," Mr Schetyna told the crowd, Reuters news agency reports.

Image copyright Karolina Stawinska Image caption Thousands tuned out under Polish and EU flags and other banners

The opposition fear the law will give parliament - dominated by PiS lawmakers - indirect control over judicial appointments, violating the constitutional separation of powers.

Włodzimierz Wróbel, a Supreme Court justice, told the BBC Poland would lose its independent judiciary.

Why is the government doing this?

The leader of the PiS, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, says the reforms are needed because the judiciary is corrupt and only serves the elites. His party has previously passed legislation giving it control over the public media and civil service.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Opponents fear the reform will erode the independence of Poland's judiciary

Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said the current system of appointing judges was undemocratic.

"We want to end corporatism and introduce the oxygen of democracy there," he said. "Because Poland is a democracy based on the rule of law. This is not court-ocracy."

Many Poles agree with the government, our correspondent reports.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Paul Adams examines the political scene in Poland

A separate bill was also presented in parliament this week, which would allow the justice minister to get rid of all of Poland's Supreme Court judges and appoint new ones.

This piece of legislation was not consulted on beforehand and introduced to parliament in the middle of the night, our correspondent says. It is still being discussed.

Under the PiS government, he adds, the justice minister already wields considerable power over the prosecution service in his role as prosecutor general because he can influence prosecutors to launch investigations.

How are Poland's EU partners reacting?

The European Commission, which is already investigating Poland for a serious breach of the rule of law, will urgently discuss the developments next week

The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, said the reforms were a "major setback for judicial independence".

Manfred Weber, leader of the European Parliament's largest grouping the EPP, said: "Law and Justice is putting an end to the rule of law and leaving the European community of values." </s> Poland's opposition parties and rights activists are due to stage a protest in the capital Warsaw against the government's reform of the judiciary.

They say the bill, passed by the Senate on Saturday, will erode judges' independence and undermine democracy.

The bill gives MPs and the justice minister the power to appoint judges without consulting judicial circles.

The government says the move is needed because the judiciary is corrupt and serve only the interests of the elites.

The bill must still be signed by President Andrzej Duda in order to become law. He has given no indication that he plans to veto it.

Since it came to power in 2015, the government of the conservative, populist Law and Justice party (PiS), has passed a series of controversial reforms, triggering mass protests.

Polish senators backed the judicial reform bill in a vote on Saturday morning after a heated debate.

Earlier this week, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro had argued that the changes were necessary because the current system of appointing judges was undemocratic.

"We want to end corporatism and introduce the oxygen of democracy there. Because Poland is a democracy based on the rule of law.

"This is not court-ocracy," the minister said.

Many Poles agree with the government, the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw reports, but many others say this is not about reform but about political control.

Opposition parties are concerned that the law would give parliament - dominated by PiS lawmakers - an indirect control over judicial appointments, violating the constitutional separation of powers.

A separate bill was also presented in parliament this week, which would allow the justice minister to get rid of all of Poland's Supreme Court judges and appoint new ones.

This piece of legislation was not consulted on beforehand and introduced to parliament in the middle of the night, our correspondent says. It is still being discussed.

Under the PiS government, he adds, the justice minister already wields considerable power over the prosecution service in his role as prosecutor general because he can influence prosecutors to launch investigations.

Grzegorz Schetyna, who leads the opposition Civic Platform party, denounced the tabling of the bill as an "announcement of a coup", the AFP news agency reports.

Earlier this week, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, said the reforms were "a major setback for judicial independence".

Meanwhile, Manfred Weber, leader of the European Parliament's largest grouping the EPP, said: "Law and Justice is putting an end to the rule of law and leaving the European community of values." </s> Thousands of Poles have gathered outside parliament in Warsaw to condemn political interference in the courts.

They are protesting at a bill to give MPs and the justice minister the power to appoint judges without consulting judicial circles. </s> WARSAW (Reuters) - Thousands rallied in Poland's largest cities on Sunday against the ruling party's judicial reforms, which the opposition says would kill the judges' independence and undermine democracy.

 Late on Friday the country's parliament, where the Law and Justice (PiS) party has a majority, passed a bill giving parliament a greater say in appointing judges, which critics say violates the constitutional separation of powers.

 The conservative, eurosceptic PiS has also introduced draft legislation in the past week that would replace all Supreme Court judges except those chosen by the justice minister.

 "Shame, shame" chanted protesters gathered in Warsaw under Polish and European Union flags, and calling Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the chairman of PiS and the country's de facto leader, a "dictator".

 PiS says the party has a democratic mandate to make the judiciary more efficient and accountable to the public. Since winning the 2015 election the party has overhauled the constitutional court and given the Justice Ministry control over the prosecutor general's office. 

 Threatening to take Poland to court, the European Union executive has said these measures undermine democratic checks and balances, a charge PiS denies.

 On Sunday opposition leaders urged the protesters to remain in front of the parliament until Tuesday when lawmakers are to debate the Supreme Court bill. Parliamentary opposition leaders vowed they would not allow for the debate to take place.

 The country's fragmented opposition also promised to be more united against PiS. 

 "Today we know that a great fight has begun and we know we must be together, we know we must fight against them together," Grzegorz Schetyna, leader of the largest political grouping, the Civic Platform, told the crowd. 

 Poland's TVP television, controlled by the state, said the protests and calls to block Tuesday's debate were "an attempt to organize a coup against a democratically elected power." 

 In December Poland saw its biggest political stand-off in years when opposition leaders blocked the parliament's plenary hall podium ahead of a budget vote, after objecting to plans by PiS to curb media access to parliament. 

 Protesters on Sunday were cordoned off from the main entrance to the parliament by barricades erected ahead of the demonstrations. 

 The police estimated that some 4.5 thousand people protested in Warsaw, but the Warsaw city hall said the number was above 10,000. Smaller protests took place in Krakow, Katowice and other Polish cities. 

 

 (Refiles to correct error in spelling of 'de facto' in paragraph 4)

 

 (Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Greg Mahlich) </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Poland's Constitutional Tribunal President Julia Przylebska said that she sees no threat to the division of powers in an overhaul of the judicial system that has brought tens of thousands of people into the streets in protest.

WARSAW: Poland's Constitutional Tribunal President Julia Przylebska said that she sees no threat to the division of powers in an overhaul of the judicial system that has brought tens of thousands of people into the streets in protest.

Senators of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party passed a bill that would remove all Supreme Court judges except those hand-picked by the justice minister. Critics say the laws will undermine judicial independence.

Now President Andrzej Duda is to decide whether to sign the bill, veto it - as the opposition and protesters demand - or send it to the Constitutional Tribunal, which PiS overhauled last year, drawing domestic opposition and criticism from the European Union.

"I see no threat to the division of powers in Poland," Przylebska, who was appointed by Duda last year, told state TV last night, according to state news agency PAP.

Przylebska said three bills overhauling the judiciary system recently approved by parliament will improve Polish courts.

Duda is to deliver a statement at 0800 GMT. Then he will meet the president of the top court, as well the head of the National Council of the Judiciary.

The overhaul of the judiciary, coupled with a drive by PiS to expand its powers in other areas, has provoked a crisis in relations with the European Union and sparked one of the biggest street protests since Poland overthrew communism in 1989. </s> WARSAW: Poland's lower house of parliament on Thursday approved changes to judiciary reforms in a bid to soothe European Union concerns that the rule of law in Poland would be weakened.

After a two-year standoff between the bloc's largest ex-communist member and the more liberal founding states, Poland's ruling nationalists have agreed to take some steps back on a court overhaul they see as central to their reform agenda.

The EU's executive signalled on Wednesday that a deal could be reached very soon, meaning the EU would take off the table a threat to punish Warsaw through a procedure that could go as far as suspending its vote in the bloc.

Warsaw also stands to lose because some EU members have pushed to make access to future EU funding conditional on respecting democratic values such as the rule of law and judicial independence.

In Poland, however, Supreme Court chief Malgorzata Gersdorf said in a statement that the concessions offered by PiS were "illusory".

"The proposed changes ... do not serve the purpose of resolving the ongoing dispute over the rule of law. (They) do not address the most controversial issues," she said in a statement.

After Thursday's late-evening vote, the Senate is expected to approve the new rules on Friday. President Andrzej Duda then has 3 weeks to sign them into law or veto them.

Since its election in 2015, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) has said its reforms were crucial to make courts more efficient and fair.

It has argued the judiciary was staffed to a large degree by people seeped in communist-era mentality and power structures, and promised to change that. The EU accused PiS of politicizing courts.

Foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz said on Wednesday that the essence of the reform would not be changed. But PiS is keen for a thaw with Brussels ahead of a series of elections this year and next.

"We want to end this dispute and we want to do it quickly. We want to end the dialogue between the PiS government and the (Commission)," the speaker of the upper house of parliament Stanislaw Karczewski said at a regular briefing on Wednesday.

At the heart of the dispute lie changes to the judiciary that, among other things, would give the justice minister powers to replace court presidents.

Under amendments now proposed by PiS, the minister would have to consult other judges at a court before deciding to sack its head. If their opinion was negative, a national judicial body which is dominated by PiS appointees would then be consulted.

The European Commission also welcomed changes that said a new compulsory retirement age for judges would be the same for men and women. PiS had initially set it at 65 years for men and 60 for women. This would slow down the process of retiring the present judges. </s> WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's upper house of parliament on Saturday approved a Supreme Court overhaul, defying the European Union and critics at home who say the legislation would undermine democratic checks and balances.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Warsaw and cities across Poland for candle-lit vigils to protest against the draft bill, as the Senate debated it late into the night.

To become law, the proposal still has to be signed by President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party. The eurosceptic PiS argues new rules are needed to make the judiciary accountable and efficient.

But the opposition and judges groups in Poland as well as critics in Brussels say the legislation is a new step by the Polish government towards authoritarianism.

The United States, Poland's most important ally in NATO, issued a statement urging Poland to ensure any changes respect the constitution.

"We urge all sides to ensure that any judicial reform does not violate Poland's constitution or international legal obligations and respects the principles of judicial independence and separation of powers," it said in a statement.

An opinion poll for private television TVN showed on Friday that 55 percent of respondents said Duda should veto the overhaul of the judiciary, while 29 percent wanted him to sign it.

Since coming into power in 2015, the PiS has sought to tighten government influence over courts, and brought prosecutors and state media under direct government control.

It has also introduced restrictions on public gatherings and made it harder for some non-governmental organisations to function.

"We believe that Poland is slowly but systematically turning into a penal institution," opposition senator Jan Rulewski, a veteran activist of the anti-communism movement, said during the debate, dressed in a prison uniform.

The PiS remains broadly popular among its electorate, despite an upswelling of protest in recent days as it rushed the judiciary overhaul through parliament.

With the economy growing robustly and unemployment at record lows, the party's nationalist rhetoric infused with Catholic piety resonates strongly among Poland's conservative voters.

The government of the EU's biggest eastern member state has so far dismissed criticism, saying the changes would ensure state institutions serve all Poles, not just the "elites".

On Wednesday, the EU gave Poland a week to shelve the judicial reforms that Brussels says would put courts under direct government control.

If the PiS government does not back down, Poland could face fines and even a suspension of its voting rights, although other eurosceptic EU governments, notably Hungary, are likely to veto strict punishments.

Senior Czech judges denounced the judicial overhaul in Poland as an attack on the rule of law on Friday.

The PiS has offered some concessions on demand from the president, but has presented criticism from abroad as unacceptable meddling in the domestic affairs of the country, which overthrew communism in 1989 and joined the EU in 2004.

"We will not give into pressure. We will not be intimidated by Polish and foreign defenders of the interests of the elite," Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said in an address on state television.

While Polish assets have been largely unfazed by the political turmoil earlier this week, the zloty fell over 1 percent against the euro on Friday, underperforming all of the region's other currencies. </s> Warsaw, Poland (CNN) Polish President Andrzej Duda has surprised observers by vetoing two bills that would have given his populist government sweeping powers over the country's courts.

The controversial bills are part of a package of judicial reforms put forward by the ruling right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) and passed by both houses of Polish parliament last week.

The proposed reforms have prompted huge protests in the capital Warsaw and across the country.

"This law would not strengthen the sense of justice" in society, Duda said in a televised declaration Monday, the AFP news agency reported.

Crowds began to gather outside the presidential palace on Monday morning, waving Polish flags and chanting: "we did it" and "thank you!" The President's veto is a victory for Poles who turned out to protest in over a hundred cities over the weekend.

Critics had condemned the legislation as a blatant power grab by the PiS, which repeatedly insisted that it was simply carrying out needed judicial reform.

Key to the legislation was that current Supreme Court judges would be forced into early retirement and new judges appointed by the Justice Ministry.

The legislation was described by protesters as the beginning of the end of democracy in the Eastern European country, one of the first former communist nations to join the European Union.

In his speech, Duda appealed to the opposition to "change tack," urging protesters not to turn to violence.

"People can demonstrate in the streets, can show their dissatisfaction, but not resort to violence," Duda said. "I admit, that my decision can be controversial. But, I'm stating here that this law, which has been passed through parliament, will not come into effect," he added.

A poll conducted by CNN affiliate TVN last week found that 55% of Poles said Duda should veto the court laws; 29% said he should not.

Parliament has the power to override the President's veto, but it would require a three-fifths majority, which would be impossible for the PiS to achieve without the support of other parties.

The ruling party will now have to go back to the drawing board and re-envision its package of reforms.

Just before news broke that Duda would veto the legislation, Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Warchol voiced his concern that rejection of the bills could halt changes to a judicial system which he says is corrupt and inefficient.

"If the President vetoes the law we will have to discuss the new shape of the disciplinary procedures against the judges," Warchol said.

"We can talk about the new law, but one thing is certain -- the ethical standards will have to be restored, and the Supreme Court must stand guard over those standards, instead of moving a corrupt judge to a different court."

Later on Monday, the President's spokesman confirmed that Duda would in fact sign a third bill, which will give the Justice Minister the power to select the heads of Poland's lower courts.

The President's unexpected decision on Monday comes after both the European Union and US State Department voiced concerns over the legislation. The EU said that it would erode the judiciary's independence.

Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European Commission, last week threatened the use of Article 7, a mechanism that would allow for sanctions against Poland and possible suspension of its voting rights in the bloc. The measure has never been used before.

European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish Prime Minister from the opposition Civic Platform Party, warned last Thursday of "dangerous consequences" for Poland's standing on the world stage and said he had asked Duda for an urgent meeting.

"Bringing the courts under the control of the governing party in the manner proposed by the Law and Justice Party ... will ruin the already tarnished public opinion about Polish democracy," he said.

The public outcry over the plans had been partly overshadowed by recent high-profile visits to Poland by US President Donald Trump and the British royals.

But the US State Department tweeted a warning Friday to Poland "to ensure that any judicial reform does not violate (the) constitution & respects judicial independence."

When asked whether the Trump administration would urge Duda to veto the measure, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: "I am not aware if we will ask him to do that." </s> WARSAW, Poland — Thousands of Warsaw residents joined in a spontaneous protest in front of Poland's parliament against a plan by the conservative ruling party to limit reporters' access to legislators.

Mobilized by the civic movement, the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, or KOD, the crowd on Friday waved white-and-red national flags and chanted "Free media!" in cold winter weather.

Radek Sikorski, a former foreign minister, was among the government critics who addressed the protest, harshly denouncing Poland's political direction under Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful chairman of the ruling Law and Justice party that is introducing many sweeping changes.

Earlier Friday, inside the parliament's session hall, a large group of liberal opposition lawmakers protested the new media rules by standing on and around the speaker's podium for several hours. They blocked a vote on the 2017 state budget.

The budget vote was eventually taken by the ruling party's lawmakers in another hall, but the opposition questioned its legality. It was the most serious crisis in Poland's parliament in many years.

"The political crisis has grown more aggravated," Law and Justice lawmaker Tadeusz Cymanski said.

The crowd blocked lawmakers' cars, preventing them from leaving the parliament area. After a few hours, police had to make way for them, as the crowd chanted "We will win!" A new protest was called for Saturday noon in front of the Presidential Palace.

At the heart of the issue was free access to information.

In the 27 years of Poland's democracy, journalists have been a constant presence in the parliament's halls. Banned from the main assembly room, they can grab politicians for interviews in the halls.

The ruling party, which is under European Union scrutiny for policies deemed anti-democratic by opponents, plans new rules starting Jan. 1 that would drastically limit reporters' access in parliament.

Ruling party leader Kaczynski denounced the obstruction of parliament as "hooliganism" and threatened protesters with consequences.

"We will not allow ourselves to be terrorized," he said.

He said the proposed changes to media access are no different from those in many other European nations. Respected journalist Seweryn Blumsztajn, a dissident under communism, called the plan a "return to communist-era practices."

Monika Olejnik of TVN acknowledged that journalists have gone too far sometimes, such as trying to accost politicians heading to the toilet. But she, too, denounced the planned new rules, saying ruling party lawmakers want "to protect themselves from uncomfortable questions by journalists."

"But this is in violation of the constitution and of parliament rules," Olejnik said.
Thousands of Poles have held rallies in the capital Warsaw and other cities to condemn a controversial reform of the judiciary. Protestors claim the bill, passed by the Senate on Saturday, will erode judges' independence and undermine democracy.