WARSAW, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday that a recent decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on a 2017 Polish law that sought to reduce the retirement age for judges was no longer relevant as the law had already been changed.

"The ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerns a historical state of play, which does not reflect the provisions currently in force. The reproaches of the European Commission (EC) were already addressed in the new form of the law on ordinary courts from April 2018," the ministry wrote in a statement sent to Polish media in response to the court ruling announced on Tuesday.

The ministry added that it would analyse the ruling in detail. It also said that past practice in such situations indicated that the EC should have withdrawn its complaint (which formed the basis of the CJEU case) once the Polish government changed the law in April last year.

In 2017, the Polish government lowered the retirement age for judges in ordinary courts, which critics argued allowed the governing party to remove "uncomfortable" judges. Following an infringement procedure initiated by the EC, the Polish government amended the law in 2018. The EC asked the CJEU to rule on the case anyway, saying that the amended law did not address all its concerns about safeguarding judicial independence in Poland.

"Poland does not question the obligation to implement the rulings of the CJEU, although it remains convinced that the reforms questioned by the European Commission did not violate judicial independence and could have been implemented as part of member state competency to organise its own judicial system," the ministry stated.

The CJEU ruled on Tuesday that the provisions of the Polish law, which lowered the retirement age for ordinary judges while allowing the minister of justice to still permit the prolongation of service, are contrary to EU law.

"This is an important ruling in support of the independence of the judiciary in Poland and beyond," the EC said in a statement on Tuesday about the ruling, which confirmed its position on the Polish justice reforms.

"The rule of law is a founding pillar of our Union and as Guardian of the Treaties, the European Commission will continue to do whatever is necessary to uphold it," said the EU executive. Enditem

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