Debate: Ongoing hearings under article of the TEU regarding Poland
Date: WEDNESDAY, 15 JANUARY 2020
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

Today, the Commission’s intervention will focus on the most recent developments. Let me start with developments in the Court of Justice of the European Union. On 5 November 2019, the Court of Justice, in full support of the Commission’s position, ruled that by lowering the retirement age of ordinary court judges and by granting the Minister of Justice discretionary power to prolong their active service after reaching the new retirement age, Poland had introduced unjustified discrimination based on gender and breached the principle of judicial independence and irremovability of judges under Article 19(1) of the Treaty on the European Union.  On 19 November 2019, the Court of Justice issued a preliminary ruling concerning the independence of the newly created disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court. The Court of Justice held that it was for the Polish Supreme Court to assess whether the new disciplinary chamber was independent and provided a number of precise elements to be taken into account.  On 5 December, the Polish Supreme Court, based on the criteria set out by the Court of Justice of the European Union, ruled that the disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court did not meet the requirements of EU law on judicial independence and was not, therefore, a court within the meaning of EU law or of national law. We have observed a number of reactions from the Polish authorities criticising the Supreme Court ruling. In this regard, I would emphasise that respecting judgments that apply a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice is of key importance for the uniform application of EU law.  As regards disciplinary proceedings, the Commission decided on 10 October 2019 to refer Poland to the Court of Justice in relation to the new disciplinary regime. In particular, the Commission considered that the new disciplinary regime did not provide the necessary guarantees to protect judges from political control of their judicial decisions.  The situation continues to be very serious. Despite the preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice and the judgment of the Supreme Court, ordinary court judges who seek to implement these rulings are subject to disciplinary proceedings and the disciplinary chamber continues to operate in full. These developments create a risk of irreparable damage for judges, who may become subject to a final decision taken by a disciplinary chamber which has been found not to be independent.  The continued operation of the disciplinary chamber, combined with the launching of new disciplinary proceedings, increases the chilling effect on the Polish judiciary. Polish judges who consider sending preliminary references to the Court of Justice are particularly affected. For these reasons, yesterday the Commission decided to make a request for interim measures in the context of ongoing infringement proceedings for the Court of Justice to suspend the functioning of the disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. These measures are urgent and needed in this specific case.  The Commission stands ready to continue the dialogue with Poland on the rule of law situation with a view to finding constructive ways forward to resolve the issues at hand. Another important recent development relates to a draft new law governing the functioning of the judiciary and currently being discussed in the Polish Parliament. The draft legislation touches upon matters such as the independence of the judiciary, further raising the Commission’s concerns in this area. For this reason, on 19 December, I sent a letter to the Polish President, the presidents of the Sejm and the Senate, and to the Polish Prime Minister on this draft legislation. The aim of the letter was to recall that the Commission wants to work with the Polish authorities to strengthen the rule of law by preventing problems and by working towards resolving them when they arise. In the letter, I encouraged the Polish authorities to consult the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission on this draft legislation and called on all state bodies not to take forward the proceedings on the new draft legislation before carrying out all the necessary consultations with all stakeholders. I underlined that any legislative development must comply with the requirements underpinning the EU legal order and should not lead to a further deterioration of the rule of law situation in Poland.  The Commission welcomes the fact that the President of the Senate has requested an opinion from the Venice Commission, which visited Poland on 9-10 January and is due to provide an opinion on the draft law. The Commission stands ready to engage in a constructive dialogue and is in regular contact with the Polish authorities with a view to finding constructive ways forward to resolve the issues at hand.