Polish judge defies retirement law, protests mount

WARSAW - 4 July 2018: Polish judge Malgorzata Gersdorf walked into the Supreme Court building on Wednesday morning, defying new legislation forcing her to retire as court president and putting the judiciary on a collision course with the government.

Hundreds of supporters chanting "constitution" and singing the Polish national anthem surrounded her at the entrance as she told reporters: "My presence here is not about politics, I am here to protect the rule of law."

The legislation is at the centre of mounting conflict between Warsaw's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) and the European Union, which accuses the government of trying to control the judiciary and subvert democratic standards.

Under the new rules, which came into effect at midnight, up to a third of Supreme Court judges including 65-year-old Gersdorf could be forced to retire unless they are granted an extension by President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally.

The nationalist ruling party argues its legal overhaul is needed to shake up a judicial system it says it steeped in communist-era thinking and power structures.

"Each EU state has the right to shape their legal system according to their own traditions," Prime Minister Morawiecki told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

But Gersdorf, who has been the president of the Supreme Court since 2014, has said she believes the legislation is unconstitutional and cannot be implemented.

After addressing the crowd, she entered the building in central Warsaw. Court officials said she went into a meeting with other judges and would address the media at 12.30 p.m. (1030 GMT).

Pro-democracy protesters who massed outside the court on Tuesday waving EU and Polish flags said they would stage more rallies across the country on Wednesday.

In Warsaw, people were gathering around the presidential palace. Lech Walesa, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former president credited with bringing down communism, was expected to join them later in the day.

"INTERNAL MATTER"

"We are moving towards a dictatorship," said Joanna Tworog, a 65-year-old webmaster in the crowd outside the court.

"What if I have a court case against someone from PiS and they will be able to influence judges. These changes affect me personally."

Through legislation and personnel changes, PiS has already taken de facto control of much of the judicial system since coming into power in 2015, including the constitutional tribunal and prosecutors, who now report directly to the justice minister.

Critics at home and abroad say the ruling party's policies, which also include tighter control of public media, amount to a shift towards authoritarian rule.

The conflict has isolated Poland within the EU, where most governments are critical, while also exposing the bloc's inability to rein in governments it believes contradict core EU values.

The European Commission opened a fresh legal case against Poland over the Supreme Court changes on Monday, saying that they undermine judicial independence in the largest formerly communist member of the EU.

Warsaw also faces the threat of losing its voting rights in the bloc under a procedure launched late last year in response to the judiciary reforms. Hungary, also facing criticism over democratic standards, has pledged to block such a move.

The eurosceptic PiS government rejects criticism, saying EU treaties do not give Brussels institutions the power to influence national matters such as the judiciary.

"Let me mention a fundamental issue. The court system ... is an entirely internal matter," PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski was quoted as saying by Gazeta Polska newsweekly in an article published on Wednesday.

The party's standing in polls has held steady at around 40 percent throughout the dispute, well above any single rival party.