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WORLD NEWS Saturday 20 OctOber 2018

EU court orders Poland to reinstate Supreme Court judges

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA expected later. ated more than 44 vacan-
RAF CASERT Supreme Court judges, cies, and President Andrzej
Associated Press arguing the forced retire- Duda has filled at least 27
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — ments are an infringement of them, Lapuerta said.
The European Union’s top of Poland’s Constitution, “Because of the Supreme
court ordered Poland on also have sought the Euro- Court’s authority to give
Friday to immediately stop pean court’s opinion. the final word in legal cas-
applying a law that low- Kaczynski’s Law and Jus- es, “there would be a real
ered the retirement age tice party has made over- risk of serious and irrepa-
for Supreme Court judges, hauling the judicial system rable damage to individu-
forcing some 20 off the a key focus since it came als if the interim measures
bench. to power in 2015. The gov- were not adopted,” her or-
The interim injunction from ernment maintains that re- der stated.
the European Court of Jus- moving justices who were Polish Prime Minister Ma-
tice also obliges EU mem- active during Poland’s teusz Morawiecki said the
ber Poland to reinstate the communist era will make government received the
judges who had to retire the courts more efficient order and would “respond
early after the law took ef- and fairer. after analyzing it.” The For-
fect in July. It lowered the In this Oct. 8, 2018 file photo, government opponents with signs Among the evidence Court eign Ministry noted that the
age limit for Supreme Court reading “Constitution” protest an overhaul of the justice system of Justice Vice President Court of Justice had not yet
service from 70 to 65. and the forced early retirement of Supreme Court judges aged Rosario Silva de Lapuerta heard Poland’s legal argu-
The powerful leader of Po- 65 and above, before the court’s building in Warsaw, Poland. cited in the order was “a ments in the case.
land’s conservative ruling Associated Press profound and immediate The director of Amnesty
party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, all it could to “defend our considers its challenge to change in the composition International’s European
said Poland would observe state interest.” the age cap as a viola- of the Supreme Court” since institutions office said that
EU law, but not whether the The European Commission, tion of EU laws on judicial the disputed law went into the ruling showed it was
government would comply the EU’s executive branch, independence and the force. Along with the retire- “unacceptable for Poland
with the order. He also said asked for the injunction right to a fair trial. A ruling ments, an increase in court to ignore EU’s most funda-
the government would do while the Court of Justice in the main proceedings is seats from 93 to 120 cre- mental principles.”q

Train mows down crowd at India festival, at least 58 dead

By ASHOK SHARMA were caused by one of the road track?,’” he asked. He
Associated Press trains, it quoted officials as told the Republic television
NEW DELHI (AP) — A speed- saying. channel that he lost two
ing train ran over a crowd India’s Prime Minister Nar- brothers. Another witness
watching fireworks during endra Modi said he was ex- said the victims didn’t real-
a religious festival in north- tremely saddened by the ize that a train was coming
ern India on Friday, killing at accident. “Have asked offi- because the fireworks were
least 58 people and injuring cials to provide immediate too loud. Navjot Kaur Sid-
dozens more, police said. assistance that is required,” dhu, a local Congress par-
The train failed to stop after Modi said on Twitter. ty politician who was the
the accident on the out- A witness said the train chief guest at the religious
skirts of Amritsar, a city in didn’t even sound its whis- function, said the celebra-
Punjab state, said the state tle as it sped past the site, tions take place in the area
governing Congress party where hundreds were every year and railroad au-
politician, Pratap Singh The body of a victim of a train accident lies covered in cloth on watching the burning of an thorities are alerted to run
Bajwa. Police Commis- a railway track in Amritsar, India, Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. effigy of demon Ravana the trains at slow speeds.
sioner S. S. Srivastava said Associated Press during the Hindu festival A large number of people
the police have found 58 two trains arrived from the time giving little opportu- of Dussehra. “Why did au- live in the area with homes
bodies so far. The Press Trust opposite direction on sep- nity for people to escape. thorities allow the fireworks on both sides of the railroad
of India news agency said arate tracks at the same However, the casualties display so close to the rail- track, she said. q