The European Union's executive branch has launched a complaint alleging Poland has limited judicial independence in the country in violation of EU laws.

The European Commission said Saturday it sent a "letter of formal notice" to Poland to raise concerns that the independence of Polish courts will be undermined by the new "discretionary" powers the overhaul gives the country's justice minister.

The commission says it is especially concerned the justice minister now is entitled to extend the mandates of judges and to dismiss and appoint court presidents.

Warsaw has one month to reply to the notice warning it is infringing on EU laws. The commission may then take further steps.

The Euroskeptic Polish government has said that reforming the justice system is an internal Polish matter. </s> WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s ruling party plans to change some of its judicial reforms in response to European Commission criticism that they threaten to undermine the rule of law, one of the party’s lawmakers said on Thursday.

Reacting to the lawmaker’s comments, an EU official said there was a chance the two sides could reach a compromise.

Poland’s right-wing government and the Commission have been at loggerheads for two years over rule of law standards, with Warsaw for months declining to make any concessions to Brussels.

The Commission has threatened to punish Poland, including by suspending Warsaw’s vote at the EU, if it does not withdraw changes that Brussels said ultimately threatened democracy.

It was not immediately clear if the planned concessions would be enough to satisfy the EU’s demands, however.

“This is a step in the direction to ease the concerns presented by the European Commission,” Law and Justice (PiS) party Marek Ast told Reuters. “We hope that these steps will be positively received by the European Commision.”

Under the changes now planned by PiS, the justice minister would first have to seek the opinion of judges before deciding whether to dismiss a court president, Ast said.

Under the original judicial overhaul, the justice minister was granted discretionary powers to replace court presidents without seeking any secondary opinion, without having to provide any justification and subject to no review.

The European Commission has said this, along with several other changes introduced by PiS, has put at risk the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers in Poland, the largest of the eastern economies in the EU.

Asked if more concessions were possible, Ast said: “We are open to a dialogue with the European Commission. Surprises are possible.”

PiS’s concessions come after the Commission dismissed Poland’s latest defence of its court reforms on Tuesday.

An EU official said Poland has informed the Commission of possible amendments to the judicial reforms, with a view to seeking a compromise before a debate on the bloc’s next long-term budget from 2021 gets under way.

“It looks like things are moving. There’s a chance of a compromise,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The second concession currently planned by PiS would equalise the compulsory retirement age of female and male judges at 65 years, Ast said.

The initial judicial overhaul set the compulsory retirement age at 60 years for female judges and 65 for male judges, meaning almost 40 percent of Supreme Court judges would be forced into retirement. </s> Protests have raged on the streets of Warsaw as the Law and Justice Party (PiS) pushes ahead with reforms that Brussels says will undermine the independence of Poland’s common courts. And in a desperate bid to throw its weight around the European Commission has given Warsaw one month to respond.

The reforms include plans to let the government fire Supreme Court judges. EU commissioners have decided to launch the "infringement procedure" for violating European Union law, the first step in a legal process that may end at the bloc's top court, pending publication of Poland's new law.

The European Commission said in a statement: “The new rules allow the minister of justice to exert influence on individual ordinary judges through, in particular, the vague criteria for the prolongation of their mandates thereby undermining the principle of irremovability of judges.” The Commission is concerned about discretionary power given to Poland's minister of justice to prolong the mandates of judges who reach retirement age, as well as to dismiss and appoint court presidents.

It said a key legal concern was the introduction of different retirement ages - for female judges at 60 and male judges at 65. But Polish deputy foreign minister Konrad Szymanski hit back branding the Commission's decision "unjustified" because the organisation of the legal systems in EU members was up to member states and not EU institutions. He also said the new regulation on the retirement of judges was aimed at bringing it into line with a reduction in the retirement age that enters into force in October. The EU has also warned it would trigger its most serious sanction, Article 7, if Poland goes ahead with the reforms proposed by right-wing PiS.

Article 7 would suspend Poland’s EU voting rights and has never been tested in practice. Poland’s eurosceptic government has rejected Brussels’ objections as “blackmail” and unjustified criticism. Government spokesman Rafal Bochenek said Poland “does not agree to any blackmail by EU officials, especially blackmail which is not based on facts.” He said: “All the bills prepared by the Polish parliament are in line with the Polish constitution and democratic principles." The Polish government has proposed four laws fundamentally changing how the judiciary is run. Two of the laws were passed by parliament and the other two were unexpectedly blocked by Polish President Andrzej Duda earlier this week indicating a split between his office and the prime minister.

The two laws not passed would force the resignation of all supreme court justices and allow their replacements to be selected by the justice minister. They would also give government-appointed members of the National Council of the Judiciary, which selected judicial candidates, a power of veto. Mr Duda’s decision came after days of widespread protests in Poland. European Council President Donald Tusk said the PiS’ move on courts went backwards and “against European standards and values”. He said: “It falls to use, together, to avert bleak outcomes which could ultimately lead to the marginalisation of Poland in Europe. “The situation, including at international level, is really serious. And that is why I am asking for serious measures and serious partners. Please let us try, Mr. President.” </s> Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party will modify plans to shake up the country's judiciary that have been criticized by the European Union, a PiS lawmaker said on Thursday.

The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, has threatened to sanction Poland if it fails to back-track on plans Brussels has said would threaten the independence of the Polish judiciary.

Read more: EU urges Poland to respect judicial reforms deadline or face Article 7 sanctions

What we know so far:
• The justice minister would first seek the opinions of judges before dismissing a court president. The initial plan would have allowed the justice minister to remove court presidents without a secondary opinion or review. It also would not have required the minister to provide a legal justification for the decision.
• The compulsory retirement age for female and male judges would be set at 65. The initial plan would have set the retirement age at 60 for female judges and 65 for male judges, a change that would have forced almost 40 percent of Supreme Court justices to retire.
• The Polish president would have the right to decide whether a judge could work past 65. The initial plan would have empowered the justice minister to make this decision.

What were the reactions?

Ast told Reuters news agency: "This is a step in the direction to ease the concerns presented by the European Commission." He added: "We hope that these steps will be positively received by the European Commission."

Poland's opposition said the changes were "a lie" and amounted to "window dressing," citing the fact that the PiS had already taken over the body that oversees judicial impartiality, the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), and replaced multiple court presidents.

Former KRS spokesman Waldemar Zurek told AFP news agency that he hoped "the cosmetic changes" would not "deceive" the European Commission.

Read more: Why Poland will be the EU's biggest challenge in 2018

EU dismissal: The latest PiS move came after the European Commission on Tuesday rejected the Polish government's latest defense of the judicial changes.

Article 7: The Commission has threatened to sanction Poland under Article 7 of the EU treaty in response to what it has said are "systematic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary and the rule of law. The sanctions could include suspension of Poland's EU voting rights. Thursday's announcement was Poland's first concession to EU demands since Brussels triggered Article 7 in December.

Read more: Poland and the EU... It's complicated </s> BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union's executive branch has launched a complaint alleging Poland has limited judicial independence in the country in violation of EU laws.

The European Commission said Saturday it sent a "letter of formal notice" to Poland to raise concerns that the independence of Polish courts will be undermined by the new "discretionary" powers the overhaul gives the country's justice minister.

The commission says it is especially concerned the justice minister now is entitled to extend the mandates of judges and to dismiss and appoint court presidents.

People demonstrate, outside the office of the ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, holding banners with the images of from left, financier George Soros ,President of the European Council Donald Tusk and First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, during a protest, in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. The European Union's executive remains open to triggering sanctions against Poland for limiting judicial independence despite the Polish president's veto of parts of a controversial legal overhaul, a top EU official said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Warsaw has one month to reply to the notice warning it is infringing on EU laws. The commission may then take further steps.

The Euroskeptic Polish government has said that reforming the justice system is an internal Polish matter.

FILE- In this Thursday, July 20, 2017 file photo, leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski votes to approve a law on court control, in the parliament in Warsaw, Poland. The leader of Poland's ruling party says the government intends to "decentralize" the media after it completes an overhaul of the judicial system that the European Union has denounced as violating democratic norms. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz, File)

People raise candles as they attend a daily protest against judicial reforms in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 27, 2017. The leader of Poland's ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, says the government intends to "decentralize" the media after it completes an overhaul of the judicial system that the European Union has denounced as violating democratic norms. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

A Polish national flag waves as people hold candles during a daily protest against judicial reforms in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 27, 2017. The leader of Poland's ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, says the government intends to "decentralize" the media after it completes an overhaul of the judicial system that the European Union has denounced as violating democratic norms. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz) </s> Brussels: The European Union said Saturday it has launched legal action against Poland`s right-wing government over a new law it fears will undermine the independence of the country`s common courts.

The action taken by the European Commission, the EU executive, could lead to Poland being hauled before the 28-nation bloc`s highest court, the European Court of Justice, and eventually given a fine.

The commission is now coming down hard on Warsaw to prevent what it says is not just an increasing threat to Poland`s democratic standards but those across the 28-nation bloc.

"The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland by sending a letter of formal notice, following the publication in the Polish Official Journal of the Law on the Ordinary Courts Organisation on Friday 28 July," the European Commission said in a statement.

It said Poland`s governing Law and Justice Party (PiS) had one month to respond to Commission concerns, including that "the independence of Polish courts will be undermined" by increased powers for the justice minister.

Other concerns, it said, include "discrimination on the basis of gender due to the introduction of a different retirement age" for female and male judges.

The legal action had been expected after Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into law a measure earlier in the week that allows the justice minister to unilaterally replace the chief justices of the common courts.

However, Duda surprised many in the government when he vetoed a bill that would have reinforced political control over the Supreme Court and another allowing parliament to choose members of a body designed to protect the independence of the courts.

The ruling Law and Justice party nonetheless vowed to push ahead with all the reforms despite the vetoes.

European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday warned of even more severe action if Supreme Court justices are sacked.

"If such a measure is taken the commission is ready to immediately trigger the Article 7 procedure," Timmermans said Wednesday.

Article 7 is a never-before-used EU process designed to uphold the rule of law, a so-called "nuclear option" that can freeze a country`s right to vote in meetings of EU ministers.

The legal reforms have triggered mass street protests in Poland and raised fears for the rule of law in one of the EU`s leading eastern former communist states.

Brussels and Warsaw have been at loggerheads over the legal changes ever since the right-wing PiS took power in 2015 and announced reforms to Poland`s constitutional court. </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> BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's executive gave Poland on Tuesday one month to address concerns over a judiciary overhaul or face a court challenge, stepping up pressure over Warsaw's reforms which critics say undermine the independence of the courts.

The Commission opened legal proceedings against the nationalist government in Warsaw over judicial reforms in July and said on Tuesday that Poland so far failed to address the points that had been raised. 

 It therefore moved to the second phase of the EU's infringement procedure and said it could escalate the case further if Warsaw does not address the concerns in a month.

 "If the Polish authorities do not take appropriate measures, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU," the Commission said in a statement.

 

 (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska) </s> WARSAW (Reuters) - Concessions in judicial reforms planned by Poland's ruling party are aimed at signaling to the European Commission that a compromise with Warsaw is possible, but will preserve the most important part of the reforms, the Polish prime minister said.

 On Thursday, the Polish Law and Justice (PiS) party presented plans to change some elements of its judicial reforms in response to European Commission criticism that they threaten to undermine the rule of law. 

 The right-wing Polish government and the European Commission have been at loggerheads for two years changes to the judicial system that the EU executive believes undermine the rule of law by placing more government control over judges.

 Warsaw, which says the changes were necessary to push aside judges left over from the Communist era, had for months declined to make any concessions to Brussels.

 Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday he wanted "the essence, most important elements of the reform to remain untouched, but at the same time we are looking at what would allow the other side to say 'Oh, one can reach a compromise with Poland.'"

 The Commission has threatened to punish Poland, including by suspending Warsaw's vote at the EU, if it does not withdraw changes that Brussels said ultimately threatened democracy.

 Under the original judicial overhaul, the justice minister was given the power to fire court presidents without providing justification and subject to no review. The concessions now proposed by the PiS would require the justice minister first to seek the opinion of judges.

 Warsaw would publish unreleased constitutional tribunal verdicts, which had ruled against the appointment of three judges nominated by PiS to the tribunal. The PiS has said those rulings were not valid because they were overturned by new laws.

 It would also equalize the retirement age of female and male judges at 65 years, raising a 60 year limit for women.

 The Polish opposition has criticized the concessions as not going far enough.

 Morawiecki said it was too early to say if the concessions planned by PiS were sufficient to win over Brussels. The proposals "were indeed received very positively" by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Morawiecki said.

 "But it would be premature to say today what the final reaction of the president will be," Morawiecki said. "For sure his wise perception, his compromise-seeking attitude may be very helpful here," the Polish premier said.

 A spokeswoman for the European Commission said on Friday the EU executive arm will analyze the Polish plan amendments.

 

 (Reporting by Marcin Goettig; Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Editing by Peter Graff)
Poland's ruling Law and Justice proposes changes to planned judicial reforms in response to European Union criticisms the plans threaten judicial independence. The European Commission is threatening Poland with sanctions over the reforms.