Poles protest president’s approval of judiciary changes

WARSAW, Poland – Thousands of people in Warsaw and other cities in Poland are protesting against the latest moves by the ruling right-wing party aimed at helping it take control of the Supreme Court and other courts.

A crowd singing the national anthem and holding lights gathered late Thursday before the Presidential Palace in Warsaw to show their disapproval after President Andrzej Duda signed the latest legislation into law.

The legislation makes it easier to choose the Supreme Court’s chief justice, a position that is currently at the centre of a political battle. The ruling party has cut short the justice’s current term, in apparent violation of the constitution.

Despite criticism at home and abroad, the ruling party’s leader insists the changes will benefit the judiciary.