In a surprise move, Polish President Andzrej Duda said Monday he was vetoing two judicial reform laws that cleared the nation’s Parliament Saturday that would have allowed the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) to consolidate power over the judicial system. Shortly after, some government members and party figures arrived somber-faced at the office of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the party's leader and policymaker. She advised the president not to return to the days when 'the general prosecutor could do virtually anything', and told the media it was out of the question for the attorney general to take charge of the Supreme Court. The first reform requires all Supreme Court judges to step down and gives the justice minister the power to decide who should stay on

The second gives politicians control over who sits on the National Judiciary Council which nominates Supreme Court judges

The third gives the justice minister the right to select and dismiss judges in lower courts

Image copyright Reuters Image caption For days, Polish cities have witnessed large demonstrations against the proposed reforms

The president's initial compromise plan last week watered down the government's bid to push through its nominees for the National Judiciary Council, by requiring the support of another political party. A spokesman for the European Union's executive says that European commissioners will discuss at their regular meeting on Wednesday their reaction to Poland's contentious bills that are seen as an assault on judicial independence and the announcement by the country's president that he will veto two of them.
Polish President Andrzej Duda announces he will veto two judicial reform bills passed by Poland's parliament, which the European Commission said would result in sanctions, and which have generated continuous demonstrations across the country. The ruling Law and Justice Party needs to put together a three-fifths majority to override the veto.