Polish ruling party wants to punish critical judges

Poland's ruling conservative party has proposed a law to punish judges who question the government's controversial judicial reforms, with the opposition calling the bid an "attempt to gag" critical magistrates.

The proposal presented late Thursday includes sanctions up to the exclusion of judges who question the legality of the nomination of another judge as well as for activities of a political nature or those considered harmful to the functioning of the judicial system.

The text presented by lawmakers of the ruling Law and Justice party PiS also "considers the possibility of removing judges who would question the national judicial council or the prerogatives of the president," said PiS deputy Jan Kanthak.

Since taking office in 2015, the right-wing PiS has introduced a slew of controversial judicial reforms that it insists are designed to tackle corruption.

But critics including top European judicial bodies argue they pose a threat to judicial independence and the rule of law.

The ..