People demonstrate in support of Poland's Supreme Court judges in front of the Supreme Court building in Warsaw on July 3, 2018 (AFP Photo/Janek SKARZYNSKI) |
Brussels (AFP) - The EU on Wednesday launched fresh action against Poland over its controversial judicial reforms, saying a new disciplinary regime for judges would have a "chilling effect" on legal freedoms.
In the
latest round of the bitter tussle between Brussels and the right-wing
government in Warsaw, the EU said that under the new system judges would be
punished simply for doing their jobs independently.
Poland has
been at loggerheads with the bloc over the sweeping reforms its government
insists are needed to tackle corruption and overhaul a judicial system still
haunted by the communist era.
The EU has
already launched unprecedented proceedings against Poland over "systemic
threats" to the rule of law that could see its EU voting rights suspended.
European
Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said a new infringement procedure
had been set in motion over disciplinary rules for judges.
"The
main objective of this disciplinary regime is -- as with the rest of the
judicial reform -- to systematically subject judges to the political control of
the executive," Timmermans said.
Polish
judges who have taken part in public debates or commented on the reforms have
been targeted by disciplinary officers, Timmermans said, along with those
asking for rulings from the European Court of Justice.
"All
this has an obvious chilling effect on the activities of judges, and this is
incompatible with the requirements of judicial independence as detailed by the
European Court of Justice," Timmermans told reporters.
"The
position of individual judges is at risk, with the careers and means of living
being endangered for the mere fact of trying to do their jobs
independently."
The
commission, the bloc's executive arm, will write to the Polish authorities and
expect a reply within two months, Timmermans said.
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