Poland's government on Tuesday night purged the country's Supreme Court, forcing up to 27 of 72 justices to retire and prompting tens of thousands to take to the streets.
The move has been interpreted as an assault on the judiciary's independence, and is expected to intensify Poland's clash with the European Union over the rule of law. The purge, along with the creation of a judicial disciplinary chamber, marked the latest in a series of steps the right-wing Law and Justice Party has taken to exert control over the courts. The party has attacked judges for years, calling them obstructionists and holdouts from the Communist era, and it took control of the Constitutional Tribunal after coming to power in 2015.
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