The Court of Justice of the European Union on Monday sided with the European Commission in a years-long dispute with Poland over its controversial judicial reform, which the EU executive says violates European law and undermines the independence of judges.

 This is stated in the decision of the EU Court.

 The court confirmed that the judicial reform adopted by Poland in December 2019 contradicts European law, as the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court introduced by it, which has the power to dismiss and prosecute judges, "does not meet the requirements of independence and impartiality."

 Criticized European judges and changes to the law on the judiciary, which Poland adopted after complaints from the European Commission in June 2022, noting that they prevent national courts from determining whether certain decisions of the Polish authorities comply with EU law.

 It is also incompatible with EU law and the authority of another body - the Extraordinary Chamber for Supervision and Public Relations of the Supreme Court of Poland - to check compliance with the basic requirements for effective judicial protection.

 We will remind you that the dispute between Warsaw and Brussels regarding the Polish judicial reform has been going on since 2019.

 In 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Poland's system of disciplining judges was incompatible with the union's laws, and then imposed a daily fine of €1 million for Warsaw's failure to comply with its decision to dissolve the Judges' Disciplinary Chamber.

 In April, following Poland's appeal, the European Court of Justice reduced this fine to 500,000 euros per day. Since Poland refused to pay, Brussels collects them from the funds that should have been allocated to the country from the European budget.