The advisor to the European Union’s top court announced this week that Poland failed to uphold the independence of the Supreme Court, and broke EU law. A final judgement is still pending, but Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev announced in a statement:
“The court should rule that the provisions of Polish legislation relating to the lowering of the retirement age for supreme court judges are contrary to EU law”.
Tanchev also said that the measures taken by the Law and Justice government impair “the objective independence” of the court and “expose the Supreme Court and its judges to external intervention”. The suggestion is that politicians could have inappropriate interference with the country’s judicial system, but Tanchev and PiS critics fail to realise why these reforms were required in the first place.
By lowering the age of retirement for Supreme Court judges, the Polish government has done something important. First of all, judges from a bygone time are being thanked and dismissed so that a new wave of judges can take their place and help establish Poland’s place on the modern world stage. Poland must keep up with the times and build a judicial system that isn’t plagued by ideological biases of the past. Secondly, Poland is ensuring that Supreme Court judges are in fit mental shape.
What, pray tell, is wrong with ensuring judges retire at what used to be a fairly standing retirement age? What, I ask, is wrong with having young judges?
If the European Union continues to push Poland around, then it won’t be all that long before public opinion in Poland starts changing. Mark my words. The European Union is widely considered to be a safety net to the Polish people – even as a British Brexiteer I recognise that – but I don’t think that feeling will last forever. The more the EU follows a path of globalism and open borders, and attempts to pull Poland into line, the Polish people will reassert their independence from this union.
If the EU wants Poland to leave the union, attempting to interfere in national affairs like the judiciary is one way to do it.