Poland says it will 'reform' its contested disciplinary panel for judges
The government will make changes to a disciplinary body attached to Poland’s Supreme Court that is at the centre of a legal dispute with the EU, a leading Polish official has said.
Earlier this month, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Poland's system for disciplining judges violated EU law, and reiterated that Warsaw should immediately stop all proceedings at the Disciplinary Chamber or face fines.
"To meet the expectations of the (European- PAP) Court, the reform is prepared and ready to be introduced in the autumn... there will also be a change regarding the disciplinary committee," Ryszard Terlecki, the deputy speaker of the Sejm, lower house of the parliament, and the head of the ruling party Law and Justice caucus told the Sejm on Friday.
His words echo a Thursday statement by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki who said Poland should review the operations of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court as the panel "certainly does not meet all expectations, including mine and those of our political grouping."
At the same time, Terlecki denied on Friday that any legislation on changing the functioning of the Disciplinary Chamber is being drafted.
