Reports Suggest Dispute In Poland's Top Court Continues Despite Scheduling Of Key Hearing

Onet news website and Rzeczpospolita newspaper both report that today's meeting of the Constitutional Tribunal was not attended by five judges who claim that Chief Justice Julia Przylebska's term has expired. Another judge may have also skipped the meeting, although it is unclear if it was due to his support for the "rebels" or for health reasons.

• Reminder that during today's meeting the Constitutional Tribunal scheduled a hearing on a key court bill for May 30. Poland needs to adopt the legislation to unlock access to EU recovery funds.
• The bill has been sent to the Constitutional Tribunal, which has been unable to meet the quorum and review it, due to a boycott by several judges arguing that the top judicial body should elect a new Chief Justice.
• Around noon local time, judge Krystyna Pawlowicz (who remains loyal to Przylebska) leaked a letter in which the Chief Justice demands that her colleagues return to work and stop blocking the Tribunal from issuing rulings.
• A source close to the Tribunal told Onet that he has not received the letter yet and considers leaking it inappropriate, while one of the "rebels" told Rzeczpospolita that the group is not motivated by any political influence.
• The release of Przylebska's letter and source reports in Polish media suggest that the Tribunal remains no less deadlocked than before, casting doubt on its ability to rule on the key court law by the scheduled date.
• This has both fiscal and political implications. Poland's access to over EUR35bn in recovery funds (and potentially more than EUR75bn if the EU Commission ties the disbursement of cohesion funds to the judicial reforms) depends on the clearance of the bill by the Tribunal, as Poland is heading into a general election this autumn.