Polish President Signs Controversial Court Reform Into Law

Warsaw: Poland's conservative President Andrzej Duda today promulgated a controversial bill reforming the country's constitutional court, despite mass protests over the changes which the opposition say threaten the court's independence.

Duda signed the bill into law four days after it was adopted by parliament, which has been dominated by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party since October elections.

The new law, which says the court must approve rulings by a two-thirds majority rather than a simple majority as at present, comes less than a month after Duda appointed four new judges to the court.