WARSAW, Poland—Lawmakers from Poland’s ruling party defended proposed legislation that would give the government the power to fire and fine judges, arguing as the debate began on Dec. 19 that the measure is needed to control growing anarchy in the justice system.
The conservative Law and Justice party introduced the bill in the lower house of parliament last week. If passed in its current form, the legislation would allow the government to discipline judges who speak out against changes the ruling party makes to the judiciary, even when a jurist’s views conform with European Union law and Poland’s Constitution.
