On December 17, 2018, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into law a bill that reinstates the Supreme Court judges who were removed from office under a prior law that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered be halted while the case of the European Commission against Poland is decided by the Court. The case concerns domestic Polish legislation that lowered the retirement age for Supreme Court Justices to 65 and gives the Polish president discretion in extending the judges’ service, resulting in a forced early retirement of 27 of the 72 judges, which the European Commission argued violates principles of the irremovability of judges and judicial independence. On October 19, 2018, the Vice President of the CJEU ordered Poland to suspend the law, and on December 17, the CJEU confirmed the interim measures ordering Poland to halt implementation of the law and allow the judges to continue working.