Poland’s highest court has ordered a ruling by the European Court of Justice to be ignored. According to the Constitutional Court, this is contrary to the Polish constitution. This ruling could have serious consequences for the European legal system, where the Luxembourg Court has the last word in principle.
The conflict between the European Court of Justice and Poland revolves around the creation of a disciplinary commission for Polish judges. As a result, they threaten to be unable to perform their work independently, the European Court has found. So the council has ordered that work not start at the moment and will make a final decision on this tomorrow. But according to the Constitutional Court, the Luxembourg Court does not relate to this at all.
The Polish government, whose opponents say it is trying to dissuade the judiciary with the help of a disciplinary commission, has asked the Constitutional Court to look into the matter. The court was also due to rule yesterday on the fundamental question of whether EU law takes precedence over Polish law, but that has been postponed until tomorrow.
Giving the European Court of Justice the final say on EU rules ensures that they are interpreted and applied in the same way across the EU. Critics fear that if national judges place themselves above the EU court, the union will gradually collapse. Opponents of the Polish government warn that setting aside the European Court will lead to the country’s exit from the European Union.
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