EC takes Poland to court over legal primacy ruling

The European Commission (EC) has taken Poland to the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) over rulings by Poland's Constitutional Tribunal stating the primacy of Polish law over EU legislation.

The EC launched preliminary proceeding in the matter against Poland on December 22, 2021.

The EC said that in question are rulings from July 14 and October 7, 2021, which state the non-compliance of EU Treaties with the Polish constitution, and which question the primacy of EU law over national legislation. 

According to the EC, the rulings "breach the general principles of autonomy, primacy, effectiveness, uniform application of Union law and the binding effect of rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union."

The EC also pointed out that the Polish rulings violate Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which guarantees citizens the right to effective court protection.

The Commission also wrote that Poland's top court "no longer meets the requirements of an independent and impartial tribunal" owing to irregularities in the 2015 appointment of three of its judges and the 2016 appointment of its president.