Polish Parliament Backs Bill Allowing Retired Judges to Return to Supreme Court

WARSAW (Sputnik) – The Polish Senate passed 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 reports.

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 at 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 the criticism of the European Union, which has said that the reform infringed on judicial independence and has threatened to trigger Poland’s suspension from the bloc.

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