Polish government wants top court to rule on its own composition

The Polish government wants the Constitutional Tribunal to decide what number of judges constitutes a full court there, the prime minister said on Wednesday, in a bid to overcome a row that threatens to block access to European Union funds.
The court has been split by a dispute over whether the term of its president Julia Przylebska has expired, leaving it unable to convene in the most important cases which currently require the presence of at least 11 judges.
The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party initially proposed a bill that would reduce the number of judges constituting a full court to nine. The bill has yet to be voted on by the parliament.
A government spokesman said the application had already been submitted to the Tribunal. The case won’t need to be heard by a full court.