Polish President Moves To Scrap Court Body Contested By EU

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday announced a draft bill to scrap the "disciplinary chamber" of the Supreme Court -- a newly created body at the heart of a row with the European Union

Warsaw, Feb 3 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Feb, 2022 ) :Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday announced a draft bill to scrap the "disciplinary chamber" of the Supreme Court -- a newly created body at the heart of a row with the European Union.

Duda said he hoped the change, which still needs to be approved by the Polish parliament, would end the dispute with Brussels.

"I propose that this chamber be liquidated," he said.

Under the draft, the judges currently in the chamber would have the option of moving to another Supreme Court chamber or retire.

The chamber would be replaced by a different body called the "Chamber of Professional Responsibility" with 11 judges.

"I want to give the Polish government a path to ending the dispute with the European Commission," Duda said.

The disciplinary chamber was part of a Polish judicial overhaul that the European Union perceived as backsliding on democratic standards, by attacking judges' independence.

Poland's populist, nationalist government insisted it was necessary to root out corruption in the judiciary and the legacy of judges appointed under Communist rule.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) last October imposed a daily one-million-euro fine on Poland for ignoring a court order to suspend the disciplinary chamber, which Warsaw has refused to pay.

On Thursday, critics were quick to dismiss Duda's proposals.

"This bill is just an attempt to get EU money via a bogus rebranding attempt while continuing to violate ECJ rulings," Laurent Pech, professor of European law at Middlesex University in Britain, said on Twitter.

The European Commission last month asked Poland to pay nearly 70 million Euros ($79 million) in fines accrued so far and Brussels has threatened to start deducting the money from EU funds earmarked for Warsaw.

"We will have to wait and see what exactly is proposed," European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters in Brussels when asked about Duda's announcement.

Christian Wigand, another European Commission spokesman, said the fines would apply "until Poland fully complies with the order of the court".

"It remains for Poland to fully and urgently comply," he said.