European Commission sues Poland in top EU court over changes to judiciary

The European Union sued Poland on Monday in the EU’s highest court over its ruling party’s changes to the judiciary. The bloc says Warsaw’s moves violate the independence of the courts. “The European Commission maintains that the Polish law on the Supreme Court is incompatible with EU law as it undermines the principle of judicial independence, including the irremovability of judges,” the EU’s executive body said. The new law lowers the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 70 to 65 years, putting 27 out of 72 sitting judges at risk of being forced to retire. The mandate of the head of the Supreme Court would be prematurely terminated. The Commission asked the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice to suspend the application of the law until it reaches a verdict to prevent the forced retirement of the judges and the appointment of new ones in their place, Reuters said.