Polish court: “Some EU rules are incompatible with our constitution”

Warsaw. The Polish Constitutional Court, headed by Judge Julia Przylbska, announced today that some EU regulations are inconsistent with the Polish state constitution. The court said that the country’s membership in the European Union and the signing of treaties did not equate to giving the bloc’s courts supreme legal authority and did not mean that Poland would transfer its sovereignty to the European Union.

According to the court, this ruling refers to the competences of the Polish state that have not been transferred to the bodies of the European Union. The court’s decision, which has been long awaited by Brussels, may adversely affect the future of the Warsaw Recovery Fund, which was obligated to respect the rule of Polish law, which has long been weakened by European standards. The dispute concerns above all the lack of independence of the justice system, which was placed under the control of the ruling Law and Justice party of leader Jaroslav Kaczynski.

According to the ruling, which was read by the President of the Court, Julia Przylbska, “EU bodies operate outside the limits of the powers granted by the Republic of Poland, and therefore some provisions of the accession treaty are unconstitutional.” Thus the Constitutional Court, with the concurrence of three of the five college judges, concludes its consideration of the appeal made by the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, regarding “widespread and reasonable doubts” about the spread of the Community Act over the Polish Constitution. The Constitutional Court also decided that “the attempt to interfere in the Polish judicial system by the Court of Justice of the European Union violates the principles of the rule of law, the principle of the supremacy of the Constitution and the principle of preserving sovereignty in the process of European integration.” According to Warsaw Consulta, Poland has not delegated the authority to administer its judicial system and the application of the above EU Court of Justice rulings or unconstitutional would mean a loss of legal sovereignty. Przybylska stressed that “no authority in the Republic of Poland can allow this to happen.”

Again in accordance with the provision, Article 1, first and second paragraphs, and Article 4, Section 3, of the accession treaty are considered unconstitutional. “Although the second paragraph of Article 1 of the Treaty states that Member States undertake to ensure effective legal protection in the areas covered by EU legislation, therefore the Court of Justice of the European Union has the power to rule on the Polish judicial system, among the jurisdictions when it is transferred From Poland to the EU, there is no judicial body,” reads the sentence, which thus states that “the EU has no jurisdiction to evaluate Polish justice and its work.”

The Constitutional Court ruled after four delays and the ombudsman requested an appeal against three constitutional judges appointed after the controversial judicial reform targeted by the European Union. Of the 14 Polish constitutional judges, 10 have been appointed in recent years by Law and Justice (Pis), the ruling party. Among them is Kristina Baovic, who referred to EU law during the hearing as “foreign regulations”. At the center of the conflict between Poland and the European Union, a disciplinary division of the Supreme Court was set up, four years ago, with the power to sanction, impeach or transfer any judge in the country against his will.