The controversy over judicial reform in Poland: the European Court of Justice supports Brussels

And in the dispute over Polish judicial reforms, the European Court of Justice backed the European Commission on Monday.

The judges considered that the Polish regulations had been shown to violate EU law and that the sanctions imposed by the EU were appropriate and lawful.

The European Union Commission welcomed the ruling.

Executives in Brussels had taken Poland to the Court of Justice because a number of provisions of the Polish judicial system violated EU law.

It accuses the conservative national government in Warsaw of limiting the independence of the judiciary and undermining the separation of powers. There have already been several decisions by the European Court of Justice on this matter.

With their verdict, the judges put an end to the fines imposed two years ago, but Poland still has to pay its debts to this day.

But Poland failed to persuade the EU Commission to release billions of dollars from the Covid Recovery Fund – money that Brussels is using to pressure Poland and which will not be affected by Monday’s decision.

Jacob Jarachzewski, Democracy Press International: “This is a victory for the European Commission because the Court approved it in all respects. But from a sporting point of view, it feels like one of those last games of the season that doesn’t matter much for the bottom line. Because the really big game, the one about the recovery fund, is going on elsewhere.”

The Polish government harshly criticized the ruling, saying it was issued by a “corrupt” court.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Justice in Warsaw, the decision was not written by judges, but by politicians “in violation of treaties” of the European Union.

However, Monday’s ruling was not the only issue causing headaches for the Polish government these days.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Warsaw over the weekend in one of the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism.

They expressed frustration with inflation, the cost of living, and women’s and LGBT rights.

Criticism has also been directed at a new law accused of undermining Polish democracy.

The law, which has been criticized by the European Union and the United States, establishes a commission to investigate unwarranted Russian interference in Polish politics, and has the power to ban people from holding public office for 10 years.