Poland agrees to minor changes to planned judicial reforms in response to EU criticisms

The opposition dismissed the changes as “a lie” and warned the EU against accepting the “cosmetic changes.” The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party had resisted any concessions for months before Thursday’s announcement.

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.

What we know so far:

Lawmaker Marek Ast announced the modifications. They include:

• 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.

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