29 July 2021
Hundreds of judges appointed in violation of the ECHR?
On 22 July 2021, the European Court of Human Rights issued its third judgment concerning the rule of law crisis in Poland. In Reczkowicz v. Poland the Court ruled that the Disciplinary Chamber which dismissed the cassation complaint of the applicant did not meet the standard of a “right to a court established by law” guaranteed under Article 6 § 1 the Convention. The judgment is important not only because the ECtHR reviewed the status of the Disciplinary Chamber – a controversial body that was also the subject of a recent CJEU judgment – but also because it seems that the reasoning of the Court can be applied to hundreds of other newly appointed judges. Continue reading >>
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20 July 2021
Protecting Polish Judges from Political Control
After many years of judicial “reforms”, Kaczyński’s Poland may soon become the EU’s second authoritarian Member State, even as the European Court of Justice increasingly attempted to deal with different aspects of Kaczyński’s multi-pronged attacks on judicial independence. In Case C-791/19, the found the new disciplinary regime for Polish judges to be incompatible with EU law while in Case C-204/21 R, the Vice-President of the ECJ ordered the immediate suspension of the application of the legislative provisions governing the jurisdiction of the infamous “Disciplinary Chamber”. Continue reading >>19 July 2021
Polexit or judicial dialogue?
In the world of EU law, Poland and the rule of law, it was a wild third week of July. A series of events unfolded in Warsaw and Luxembourg, adding to the saga of Polish rule of law travails before courts. All levels of Polish government and bodies controlled by the ruling party have decried CJEU interim orders and judgments, indicating a complete lack of will to comply with EU law and CJEU rulings. Is a "Polexit" looming? Continue reading >>
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14 July 2021
An Appeal to Polish Authorities
On 23 June, Bartosz Kramek, a Polish activist and the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF), a Poland-based international NGO on the frontlines of the fight for the rule of law in the country, was arrested by he Internal Security Agency. Mr Kramek is currently under unconditional pre-trial detention. The court approved placing him under detention with a bail of 300,000 PLN to be delivered by 8 July 2021. The prosecutor filed an objection, which means that, irrespective of the payment, Mr Kramek will not be released until the court’s decision becomes final, that is, until the second-instance court examines the prosecutor’s appeal. If the court agrees, a well-known government critic and civic activist will be put behind bars for at least 3 months, making him a political prisoner in an EU Member State. Continue reading >>
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10 May 2021
The ECtHR Steps into the Ring
For the last two years, the fight for safeguarding the principle of the rule of law in Poland has been dominated by the ECJ’s case law. During this, the Strasbourg Court has mostly been sitting in the bleachers. Yet, with its Xero Flor judgment of 7 May, it strapped on its gloves and stepped into the ring. It concluded that the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, in its current composition, cannot be seen as a tribunal established by law. The decision will undoubtedly have major political and legal consequences. Continue reading >>
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09 May 2021
What Should and What Will Happen After Xero Flor
On 7 May 2021, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in a case concerning irregularities in the personal composition of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. The ECtHR found a violation of “the right to a tribunal established by law” due to fact that the decision on the discontinuation of the proceedings concerning a constitutional complaint filed by a Polish company was issued by the Constitutional Tribunal with the participation of a person who was unlawfully elected to the position of judge. The said judgment is the first ruling of an international body finding that the irregularities in the functioning of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal violate international law. Continue reading >>
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22 April 2021
And Now His Watch Is Ended
When democratic institutions are captured by an authoritarian government, they not only cease to hold the government accountable, or even restrain its megalomaniacal tendencies, but can be actively used to capture other democratic institutions. This was recently the case in Poland, as the ruling "Law and Justice" party removed a particularly annoying irritant: the Polish Citizens’ Rights Ombudsman, Dr. Adam Bodnar. Continue reading >>
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03 April 2021
From Captured State to Captive Mind
Finding two history professors guilty of allegedly defaming the good name of an individual by researching his alleged role in the Holocaust must not be treated as yet another run-of-the-mill litigation instigated by a relative concerned about a tarnished good name. Rather, Poland seems to be entering an unchartered territory of settling the score by way of the long arm of the law. The sacred dignity of the Polish nation hidden under the convenient argument from protecting the “good name” of individuals takes center stage and overshadows the need to have a robust historical discourse. Continue reading >>24 March 2021
The New Normal? – Emergency Measures in Response to the Second COVID-19 Wave in Poland
This post will cover four core areas of legal concern regarding the Polish response to COVID-19 across the last few months. First of them is the continued issue of legality of the measures used. Second is the issue of transparency and clarity of the measures employed with a particular look at the issue of exiting the emergency. Third is the matter of judicial oversight and the role of Polish courts during the pandemic. Fourth issue pertains to the convergence between the challenges brought about by the pandemic and the continued backsliding of the rule of law and erosion of human rights in Poland. Continue reading >>
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11 March 2021