Polish court declares European Court's decision on daily fine payment "illegal"
Warsaw has to pay EUR 1 million daily due to slowdown in judicial reform and non-stop coal mining
Poland's Constitutional Court has declared illegal the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ordered the country's authorities to pay a daily fine in connection with the controversial judicial reform and non-compliance with environmental standards in lignite mining. The ruling of the EU Court of Justice "contradicts the Polish Constitution," the court ruled on Monday, December 11, Deutsche Welle reports.
The Constitutional Court of Poland is controlled by the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which, despite its defeat in the recent parliamentary elections, remains in power.
On December 11, the Polish Sejm will vote on the issue of confidence in the government headed by the current Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki. If the prime minister is voted out of office, the opposition, led by Donald Tusk, will be able to start forming a new government.
In October 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg ordered Poland to pay a daily fine of €1 million.
This was due to Warsaw's refusal to comply with the EU court's decision to reform the Polish judiciary. The fine was justified by the need to avoid "serious and irreparable damage to the EU rule of law and to the values on which the Union is founded."
Among other things, it was necessary to terminate the activities of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court, established in Poland in 2018 on the initiative of the Law and Justice party. The reform effectively gave the government the right to appoint and dismiss judges.
In June 2022, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed amendments to the law on judicial reform, according to which the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court was abolished. However, another body was created instead – the Professional Chamber of Responsibility, whose 11 members are appointed by the president. Critics of the ruling Polish party recognized the reform as superficial.
In addition, in September 2021, the EU Court of Justice ruled that Poland must pay the European Union 500 thousand euros for each day of non-compliance with a court order to stop coal mining in the Turów quarry, located near the Czech Republic and the German federal state of Saxony.
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