Top Polish judge defies govt 'purge'

Poland's disputed top judge showed up at work yesterday in defiance of a retirement law pushed through by the right-wing government but criticised by the EU as a threat to judicial independence.

Chanting "Free courts!", "Constitution!" and "Irremovable!" several thousand supporters greeted Supreme Court chief justice Malgorzata Gersdorf as she made her way into the court building in central Warsaw.

Gersdorf has branded the reform -- which has put Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) government at loggerheads with Brussels -- a "purge".

Insisting that she has a six-year term under the constitution, Gersdorf, 65, refused to comply with the new rules that require her to step down immediately, cutting short her tenure that was set to end in 2020.

"I'm not engaging in politics; I'm doing this to defend the rule of law and to testify to the truth about the line between the constitution and the violation of the constitution," Gersdorf told journalists and supporters outside the court.

"I hope that legal order will return to Poland," she said.

Twenty-seven of the court's 73 judges are affected. Under the law, the judges can ask the president to prolong their terms, but he can accept or deny their requests without giving a reason. Sixteen judges have made requests.

The European Union on Monday launched legal action against Poland over the new rules, which lower the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 70 to 65.

It was the latest salvo in a bitter battle over sweeping judicial changes introduced by the PiS government.