27th June, 2019
An adviser to Europe’s top court has been reported to have said on Thursday that the independence of Polish courts, could be at risk from changes made by the right-wing government.
The advocate general to the European Court of Justice, whose name was not mentioned in the report published on Thursday by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), was reported to have said in an opinion that a newly created disciplinary chamber of the Polish Supreme Court “does not satisfy the requirements of judicial independence under EU law”.
Under the change, judges could be subjected to a disciplinary investigation and ultimately sanctions if authorities deemed their rulings inappropriate.
The European Court Justice, which is due to rule in the coming months, is not bound by such opinions but follows its adviser’s lead in most cases.