EU court rules Polish system for disciplining judges violates bloc's laws

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Court of Justice is pictured outside the main courtroom in Luxembourg January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that Poland's system for disciplining judges undercuts the bloc's laws, part of an escalating battle over democratic rules that risks Warsaw losing some of its key development funding.

Poland's ruling nationalists set up a disciplinary chamber at the Supreme Court in a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary already condemned by the Brussels-based EU executive, which acts as the guardian of laws across the bloc's 27 member states.