MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Before President Andrzej Duda enacted the new rules in December, Constitutional Tribunal rulings required the presence of nine judges and a simple majority to stand.
The court adjudicated on Wednesday the new rules "prevent the constitutional body, which is the Constitutional Tribunal, from reliable and efficient operation" and interferes with its "independence and autonomy from other authorities, violating the rule of law."
Two of the 15 judges, who were both appointed by Duda’s Law and Justice (PiS) party, disagreed with the court’s decision.
Poland remains the subject of an EU inquiry into possible breach of EU legal standards that began in January after Duda approved laws restricting media freedom and enabling the government to appoint heads of public television and radio services.
The country’s expanded government surveillance powers law came into force early last month.
