WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The top European Union court ruled Tuesday that Poland’s new regulations for appointing judges to the Supreme Court could go against EU law.
The ruling obliges Poland’s government to discontinue these regulations and observe the principles of judicial independence and the right to judicial protection.
The ruling was in response to a complaint by some judges in Poland to the European Court of Justice. The judges said the new regulations have stripped them of the right to appeal a decision rejecting them as candidates for Poland’s top court.
The case relates to new legislation regulating Poland’s top judicial body, the National Council of the Judiciary, and its new method of appointing judges to Poland’s Supreme Court.
At issue is judicial independence in Poland and the right to fair and transparent judicial procedure.