Poland has enacted a reform of the controversial disciplinary system for judges promised to the EU. President Andrzej Duda yesterday signed the relevant law, which abolishes a disciplinary chamber for judges in the Supreme Court system. The chamber caused disputes between Poland and the EU for years.
Because of the dispute, Brussels withheld the billions in aid provided to Warsaw in the EU’s coronavirus recovery fund. Warsaw then announced in May that it had reached an agreement with the EU.
In particular, the EU Commission called for the Disciplinary Chamber to be dissolved. However, critics of the Polish opposition and judges’ associations complain that the new law does not alleviate concerns about political influence in Poland’s judiciary.
There were also doubts within the EU Commission about whether Warsaw was serious about its reforms. For years, the Commission has complained that the conservative national government in Warsaw has undermined the rule of law.