Deadline for Poland to inform EU about plans to dismantle judicial disciplinary system

The EU has set today as the deadline for Poland to inform Brussels about how it plans to dismantle a judicial disciplinary chamber deemed in violation of EU law. 

Poland’s judicial disciplinary panel law allows judges to be penalized for criticizing other judges appointed by the country’s National Council. The European Court of Justice  found that the chamber was not judicially independent and demanded that it be immediately disbanded. Poland has since been fined 1.2 million USD a day for its failure to act. 

The dispute represents a wider conflict between the Polish government and the EU over national sovereignty and the supremacy of EU law. 

Poland is unlikely to comply with EU demands, likely leading to the EU adding on more fines and continuing to withhold funds from the country, for example the Coronavirus recovery fund. In the short-term, expect the Polish government to continue its defiance. In the medium-term, Poland may attempt to block new EU proposals in order to bargain for its withheld funding. This measure is unlikely to succeed, forcing Poland into concessions. In the long term, this dispute will likely be the first of many determining the authority of the EU over member states.