Tensions between Brussels and Warsaw over the independence of the Polish judiciary could reach a new high if Poland’s top court rules on Wednesday to assert the precedence of Polish law over EU courts.

The EU’s top court ruled in July that a Polish disciplinary chamber for judges was illegal, a day after the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw ruled that Poland should ignore a previous demand to stop the chamber from operating

If the court rules in favour of polish law it would be a serious challenge to the EU norm that European courts have the final say on some key issues within member states.

According to Reuters “Poland is involved in a series of disputes with the EU on issues ranging from courts and media freedom to LGBT rights, as critics accuse its nationalist government of inching toward an exit from the bloc.”

Brussels would be under pressure to react to prevent other member states like Hungary from taking similar steps.

Poland has long been at odds with the EU over the rule of law, with Brussels imposing fines on Warsaw as recently as September 7 for interference in Polish courts.

The primacy of European laws over national ones is a key tenet of European integration.

Aljazeera/Reuters.