EU court says Poland's Supreme Court reforms unlawful

The European Union’s top court has ruled that a Polish law that pushed Supreme Court judges into early retirement violates EU law.

In its Monday ruling, the EU’s Court of Justice said the measures breach judicial independence. Under an interim decision in November 2018, Polish authorities had been forced to remove the provisions that forced about a third of the top court’s judges into early retirement and reinstate the judges.

There was no immediate reaction from Poland’s government, but the move is a blow to the ruling right-wing party, which since winning power in 2015 has increasingly taken control of the judicial system.

Amnesty International welcomed the ruling, calling it significant for Poland and other EU countries “who think that they can breach human rights with impunity.”