- Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/211017111314-exp-gps-1017-anne-applebaum-poland-constitutional-tribunal-00000220.png?q=x_0,y_0,h_1080,w_1919,c_fill/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/211017111314-exp-gps-1017-anne-applebaum-poland-constitutional-tribunal-00000220.png?q=x_0,y_0,h_1080,w_1919,c_fill/h_540,w_960" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html=" Fareed Zakaria, GPS " data-byline-html="
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Published 5:21 AM EST, Tue November 16, 2021
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On GPS: Poland's clash with the European Union
06:33 - Source: CNN

The European Union’s top court ruled on Tuesday that Polish rules allowing the justice minister to assign judges to higher criminal courts or to remove them without stating reasons violated EU law.

The case arose after a Polish court asked whether the Polish government’s ability effectively to second one of three judges to a panel ruling on criminal cases or to terminate a secondment infringed the requirement for judicial independence.

The Polish court said the secondments and terminations were not based on predefined legal criteria and the latter did not have to be accompanied by a statement of reasons.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - OCTOBER 24: European Union flags are pictured outside the European Commission building on October 24, 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. Alongside criticism from outgoing European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on the UK's stance on EU immigration and a plan to quit the European Court of Human Rights, the UK has now been told to pay an extra ￡1.7bn GBP (2.1bn EUR) towards the EU's budget because its economy has performed better than expected. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - OCTOBER 24: European Union flags are pictured outside the European Commission building on October 24, 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. Alongside criticism from outgoing European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on the UK's stance on EU immigration and a plan to quit the European Court of Human Rights, the UK has now been told to pay an extra ￡1.7bn GBP (2.1bn EUR) towards the EU's budget because its economy has performed better than expected. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
Carl Court/Getty Images

Related article EU leaders lambast Poland over its challenge to union

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said that rules related to secondments must provide necessary guarantees to prevent a risk of them being used as means of exerting political control over judicial decisions.

Poland’s nationalist government is involved in a series of disputes with the EU regarding issues such as the rule of law and judicial reforms that critics say undermine the independence of the judiciary.

In October, the CJEU ruled Poland must pay 1 million euros a day in fines for maintaining a disputed disciplinary chamber for judges.