Polish Parliament Backs Bill Allowing Retired Judges Return to Supreme Court

The Senate, the upper house of the Polish parliament, passed the amendments on Friday to the high-profile law on the Supreme Court, that ensure the reinstatement of judges who had been forced to retire after reaching the age of 65, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The amendments were upheld by the Sejm, the lower house of the parliament, on Wednesday. On Friday, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis praised the lawmakers’ decision to pass the amendments, saying that Warsaw was "heading in the right direction."

However, under the law overhauling the Supreme Court, the newly appointed judges will still have to retire of the age of 65.

The voting in the Polish parliament followed the October ruling of the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) that said Warsaw must halt the application of the law that capped the age of Supreme Court judges at 65 and should reinstate those who had been forced out.

The law on the Supreme Court is one of the recently passed motions aiming to reform the Polish judiciary system.

The judicial overhaul has provoked criticism by the European Union which has said that the reform infringed on judicial independence and has threatened to trigger Poland’s suspension from the bloc due to the judicial overhaul.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201811241070086677-poland-parliament-bill-judges-reinstatement/