WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The European Union's top court has ruled Poland must immediately suspend a law that lowered the retirement age for Supreme Court judges.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Monday confirmed an interim judgment from October to reinstate judges who had been forced into early retirement earlier this year. The court's steps reflect support for the European Commission, which enforces EU law in the 28 member states, in an ongoing standoff with Poland.
The commission viewed the forced early retirement of some two dozen judges as erosions of judicial independence and democratic standards because it gave the legislative and executive branches of government unprecedented control over the courts.
After the interim injunction, Poland's parliament passed amended legislation to remove the early retirement provisions but that still awaits presidential approval.
