Poland row deepens as president disputes top judge’s tenure

The stand-off over Poland’s Supreme Court intensified yesterday as the president insisted its chief justice Malgorzata Gersdorf must retire under a law that she has rejected as unconstitutional and that the EU has criticised as a threat to judicial independence.Gersdorf, 65, has refused to comply with the law that took effect on Tuesday at midnight and reduces the retirement age for Supreme Court judges from 70 to 65.She has branded the court changes – which has put Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) government at loggerheads with Brussels – a “purge”.Gersdorf was back at work again yesterday, firm in her position that the constitution sets her term as chief justice at six years, overriding the new law.Thousands of supporters had greeted her when she arrived on Wednesday.However, insisting that she must go, President Andrzej Duda yesterday sent retirement confirmations to several Supreme Court judges, including Gersdorf, presidential aide Andrzej Dera said.Calling Gersdorf a “pensioner”, Dera said that any official business she conducted was “invalid by law”, according to the Polish news agency PAP.Meanwhile, her retirement notice has yet to land at the Supreme Court as of early yesterday afternoon, spokesman Michal Laskowski told AFP.Gersdorf said she plans to go on holiday as of next week and that Judge Jozef Iwulski would temporarily stand in for her during her absence.Iwulski himself confirmed this on Wednesday, saying: “I only fill in if she (Gersdorf) is absent.” President Duda, however, regards Iwulski as the interim Supreme Court chief justice.Earlier yesterday, right-wing Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro also insisted that there was no doubt about the constitutionality of the retirement law and that Gersdorf was now a pensioner.“Under the constitution, Mrs Gersdorf has retired because she exceeded the age limit of 65,” he told state broadcaster Polish Radio, adding that Gersdorf has not filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the new retirement law.“This is the only body (Constitutional Court) that could decide whether a law is compatible with the constitution,” he said.The Constitutional Court also underwent controversial reforms introduced by the PiS government in 2016.Critics allege the changes were unconstitutional and stacked the court with PiS allies.Yesterday seven of the Constitutional Court’s 15 judges signed a letter accusing the body’s chief justice Julia Przylebska of “abnormalities” in appointing judicial panels and presiding judges in cases that the court adjudicates.Przylebska, who joined the court in 2015 at the recommendation of the PiS government, denied any wrongdoing.Critics have warned that the PiS government’s judicial overhaul poses a threat to the separation of powers, a key pillar of democracy in the EU member state.Twenty-seven of the Supreme Court’s 73 judges are affected by the new law.Justices can ask the president to prolong their terms, but he can accept or deny their requests without giving a reason.Sixteen judges have made requests.Although they contest it, 10 judges have complied with the retirement legislation, a Supreme Court spokeswoman told AFP yesterday.