Poland Seeks Supreme Court Revamp That May Deepen Feud With EU

(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s ruling party is seeking to make new changes to the Supreme Court, giving more power to judges appointed in a procedure already scrutinized by the top European Union court in a move that may further aggravate ties with the bloc.

The Law & Justice party announced draft legislation to give a new panel of judges appointed by a politically linked judiciary council the right to annul appeals against new Supreme Court appointments by the council. It also gives judges appointed in a contested procedure the right to sign off on the results of presidential elections.

The council’s role is central to the case in which the European Court of Justice will issue a non-binding opinion on May 23, shortly before European Parliament elections. An ECJ injunction against other Law & Justice-backed changes at the Supreme Court was seen as playing a factor in the strong showing by pro-EU opposition parties in October local elections.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw at mstrzelecki1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Andrew Langley

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