56 per cent of respondents in Poland would like the European Commission to continue demanding that the Law and Justice party authorities observe the rule of law in Poland, while just 39 per cent would prefer it to “forgive the government”.

The measures adopted by the ruling majority, the Government and the President appear to intend to ensure that the executive and legislative branch can take control of the judiciary and as such they raise serious concerns about the separation and independence of courts in Poland.

The report contains Commission’s position for the hearing of Poland before the Council of the EU on 11 December 2018. Commission maintains that Poland does not comply with its recommendations concerning the rule of law. The recent amandment to the law on Supreme Court is seen as a positive development. But other problems remain

Batory Foundation Legal Expert Group concludes that nothwitstanding the positive direction of the Amendment Act on the Supreme Court, it is primarily an instrument to obtain desired effect in the negotiations with the EU.

The report “Nations in Transit” published yearly by Freedom House analyses key factors of democratic rule in the post-communist countries in Europe and Central Asia. In the 2018 edition, Poland recorded the largest category declines and the second-largest Democracy Score decline in the history of the Report

Unconstitutional selection panel, unconstitutional and unreliable selection procedure and lacking candidates taking part in the gross betrayal of the values underlying legal professions.

Based on Constitutional Tribunal own data, the report highlights significant drop of CT proceedings in 2017. In addition, the adjudicating panel selection and disqualification motions justify concerns about the possibility of the current CT management using its powers to achieve a specific decision on the merits.

This response to the White Paper compendium presented by the Government of the Republic of Poland to the European Commission was prepared by the Polish Judges Association “Iustitia”, together with a team of experts, in order to present a realistic picture of the reforms of the Polish justice system, which have been made in Poland over the last two years.

The report “Nations in Transit”, published yearly by Freedom House, analyses key factors of democratic rule in post-communist countries in Europe and Central Asia. The report’s 2017 edition shows a clear decline of democracy in Poland. The country was doing worse in the fields of National Democratic Governance, Judicial Framework and Independence, Independent Media, Civil Society and Local Democratic Governance

ARTICLE 19 and HFHR find that freedom, independence and pluralism of the media are under severe threat in Poland. The new legislation and administrative actions related to media companies and personnel restrict freedoms and increase or introduce political or executive branch control over National Media Council, media expression and management of media companies. Only international pressure has momentarily slowed down further government capture of independent media.