European Union to hit Poland with deadline to reverse curbs on judicial freedom

The Polish senate defied international condemnation early on Saturday and mass demonstrations in Warsaw to approve a law that allows the firing of its current supreme court judges, except those chosen by the justice minister and approved by the president.

Protests continued in Poland. on Saturday. But despite increasing dismay at developments, the European commission knows it needs time to build support before moving towards what is regarded as the nuclear option – of suspending a country's voting rights in the EU for the first ti me. Last week the first vice-president of the EU's executive, Frans Timmermans, warned that Brussels was "very close" to triggering the sanction, which would spark a major confrontation with one of the EU's most populous member states.

The legislation passed on Saturday is only one of a series of contentious legal reforms being pursued by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) which have prompted thousands to take to the streets in protest against what many claim is the death of Polish democracy.

The new law gives the president the power to issue regulations for the supreme court's work. It also introduces a disciplinary chamber that, on a motion from the justice minister, would handle suspected breaches of regulations or ethics. The law now requires only the signature of the president, Andrzej Duda, who was previously a member of PiS.