Poland's top court rules against primacy of EU law, says it 'violates' constitution

Poland’s constitutional court on Thursday, 7 October, ruled against the principle of the primacy of EU law over national legislation in certain judicial matters. The Constitutional Tribunal said that some of EU treaty articles were incompatible with Poland’s constitution, BBC reported. The ruling said that the attempt by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to involve itself with Polish legal mechanisms “violates the rules that give priority to the constitution and rules that respect sovereignty amid the process of European integration". 

The Constitutional Tribunal said that Polish law can take precedence over EU law. The decision by Poland’s top court came after Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki requested a review of the decision by ECJ that gave bloc’s laws primacy. The court looked specifically at the compatibility of provisions from EU treaties with Poland’s constitution. 

The ruling by the ECJ in March, on the other hand, said that the European Union can force member states to disregard certain provisions in national law, including constitutional law. The ECJ had also said that Poland’s recently implemented procedure for appointing members of the Supreme Court amounts to a violation of the bloc's law. However, in response to the ECJ ruling, Poland’s PM legally challenged the primacy of EU law. 

EU react angrily to Poland's rejection of law 

Following Poland’s court ruling, several EU leaders and institutions reacted angrily to the court ruling with the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli, calling on the European Commission to “take the necessary action”. The EU’s executive body said that the decision raised “serious concerns”. In a statement, the European Commission said that the EU law has primacy over national laws, including constitutional provisions. 

“All rulings by the European Court of Justice are binding on all member states' authorities, including national courts," it added. 

Further, the EU said that it will “analyse the ruling of Polish Constitutional Tribunal in detail and we will decide on the next steps,” and warned that it would “not hesitate to make use of its power under the treaties to safeguard the uniform application and integrity of Union law.” 

While reaffirming the primacy of EU law, the statement also said that the European Union is a community of values and of law, which must be upheld in all member states. It added that the rights of Europeans under the treaties must be protected, no matter where they live in the EU. “The European Commission has the task of safeguarding the proper functioning of the Union's legal order and it will continue to ensure that,” the bloc said. 

(Image: AP)