ECJ adviser says Polish moves to discipline judges break EU law

Disciplinary regime introduced by Warsaw infringes on judicial independence, adviser to top EU court states.

The European Union’s top court should rule that measures introduced by Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to discipline judges contradict the bloc’s laws, a court adviser has said ahead of a final ruling due in the coming months. In an opinion on Thursday, Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev recommended that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rule that the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court is not in line with EU law. The development was the latest in an ongoing dispute between the 27-member bloc and the conservative, populist party, which has reshaped Poland’s justice system since it came to power in 2015 to give authorities new powers over the courts.