(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 26 GEN - STRASBOURG, JANUARY 26 - Poland must reverse the course undertaken with the justice reform that began at the end of 2015, which caused "legal chaos" in the country. The assembly of the Council of Europe calls on the government to 'back off', through the Italian rapporteur Andrea Orlando, MP of the Democratic Party. "The judges in Poland and Moldova must remain independent," he recommended.

Through this document, the assembly also condemns "the intimidation campaign launched by the political authorities against the judges who were critical of the reform. This behavior - the assembly underlined - is unworthy of a democratic country and the rule of law." Mentioning that Poland is the only EU state subject to the assembly's monitoring procedure "precisely because of the justice reform, but also the rulings of the EU Court of Justice, the Council of Europe asks Warsaw to amend the changes made to the functioning of the Constitutional Court and the ordinary judicial system, in particular those regarding the election of judges and the composition of the disciplinary chamber.

Moreover, the assembly asks the local authorities not to enforce the law of December 20, 2019, because "this law would prevent magistrates from exercising their right to freedom of expression and association." (ANSA).