The European Commission is accusing Poland that the Constitutional Tribunal is breaching the legal order of the European Union and the rights of EU citizens with its rulings. The Commission is also contesting the choice of the ‘stand-ins’ and Julia Przyłębska as President of the Constitutional Tribunal. That is why it is referring the case to the EU Court of Justice. What happens next? Our explainer.

The European Court of Human Rights will rule on the cases of eight people who were recommended by the ‘old’, legal National Council of the Judiciary to the Supreme Court, among others, whereas President Duda refused to appoint them without giving reasons.

Just like the Prime Minister’s motion and the Constitutional Tribunal’s judgment of 7 October, the prosecutor general’s motion in case K 7/21 contains criticism of the European Court of Human Rights acts, that are nowhere to be found in the courts’ case law.

‘The authorities will try to use the carrot-and-stick method: a stick for those judges who are fighting for the rule of law, and a carrot for those they try to persuade over to them,’ believes Judge Waldemar Żurek. We discuss scenarios of further changes in courts and judges’ reactions to them

The Constitutional Tribunal, headed by Julia Przyłębska, ruled that the CJEU’s interpretation of Articles 1 and 19 of the EU Treaty is incompatible with the Constitution. The Prime Minister used the Constitutional Tribunal to block judges from invoking CJEU judgments and to have a para-argument in the negotiations with the European Commission.

The Constitutional Tribunal presided over by former PiS MP Stanisław Piotrowicz ruled that the CJEU’s interim orders on the structure of courts in Poland are inconsistent with the Polish constitution. During the hearing, the CJEU suspended the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court with such a ruling.

Ombudsman Adam Bodnar was defending Poland’s place in the legal order of the EU at the Tribunal. Meanwhile, the President, the Prosecutor General and the Sejm agree with Minister Morawiecki’s motion to the Constitutional Tribunal. The hearing was adjourned until Thursday 15 July at 1 p.m.

The Constitutional Tribunal will consider Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s motion to examine the constitutionality of the provisions of the EU Treaty on 13 July. ‘The applicant is acting in bad faith and creating a false conflict between EU law and the Constitution,’ explains Professor Stanisław Biernat. This is an interpretation of international law like that from imperial states, from Russia,’ considers Professor Jerzy Kranz.

The recruitment for the office of judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union can be entered up to 19 July. An inter-ministerial group will assess the candidates. We explain the procedure and the achievements of the most probable candidates

This is the second decision by the Higher National Court in Karlsruhe to suspend the execution of a EAW to Poland, directly motivated by concerns over the rule of law, resulting from changes in the judiciary after 2015