Your trusted source

Poland’s constitutional court has ruled that interim measures imposed on the Polish judicial system by the top European court are against the country’s constitution, accelerating the collision course between Poland’s right-wing government and Brussels, Al Jazeera reports.

Legal observers interpreted Wednesday’s decision from Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal as a move by the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party to undermine the power of European Union laws within the country and even a step away from the 27-nation bloc. Poland joined the EU in 2004, agreeing to abide by its rules and laws.

“The refusal to implement rulings of the European Court of Justice in Poland is a clear step towards taking Poland out of the European Union,” Jeroen Lenaers, a European Parliament member from the Netherlands, said.

“We fear that the Polish government is on the path to ‘Polexit’,” Lenaers said.

The Constitutional Tribunal said even though Poland is an EU member, domestic issues concerning the judiciary and court system remain the sole purview of Polish authorities and legislation.

But Poland’s Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is behind the controversial changes to the justice system, praised the ruling, saying it defends the country’s constitutional order “against the lawless interference and aggression of the law coming from European bodies”.

The ruling was triggered by a 2020 interim decision by the European Court of Justice that ordered the suspension of a new chamber at Poland’s Supreme Court that was set up to discipline judges and prosecutors.