Posts in the category
Prosecutor Wójtowicz under fire for defending judicial independence
The head of the national public prosecutor’s office, Bogdan Święczkowski, is seeking to punish prosecutor Piotr Wójtowicz (pictured below) for his presence at a demonstration protesting attacks on the independence of the Supreme Court and National Council of the Judiciary (KRS). Święczkowski is demanding punishment for “political” activity, despite the fact that he himself ran as a candidate of Law and Justice (PiS) in recent elections. The verdict in this case will set a major precedent and will show whether all prosecutors are equal under the law.
More changes in the acts regulating the Polish judiciary system
In April 2019, a group of governing majority MPs submitted a proposal amending the Act on the National Council of Judiciary.
Human Rights and Solidarity
Remarks by Dr Adam Bodnar, Polish Commissioner for Human Rights, on Human Rights and Solidarity at the University of Connecticut (4 April 2019)
New Supreme Court judges rule their appointments were proper; European Commission questions status of Disciplinary Chamber
The Disciplinary Chamber is populated entirely by justices selected since Law and Justice came to power. In a resolution of 10 April, they declared that the process by which they were appointed was entirely proper. The new members of the Supreme Court are rushing to “legalise themselves” in order to head off the “older” judges, who believe their new counterparts should not be allowed to rule. They were appointed in a faulty process and with the participation of a politicised KRS.
Judges demonstrating across Poland: “We won’t be intimidated”
Polish judges are again showing the government and the small number of collaborator judges that they will not be broken or be intimidated by disciplinary proceedings.
ECJ hears case on retirement of ordinary courts judges
Polish authorities demand that the European Commission withdraw its complaint since the contested provisions are no longer in force.
European Commission opens debate to strengthen the rule of law in the EU, mentions Polish case
The European Commission has launched a reflection process on the rule of law in the EU and setting out possible avenues for future action. It outlined three pillars which could contribute to further the effective enforcement of the rule of law in the Union: better promotion, early prevention and tailored reposnse
Ziobro ready to assume control of Polish judiciary
Through a reorganization of existing courts and the establishment of new ones, the Ministry of Justice will achieve total control over the entirety of the justice system. The reorganization will put all judges under a microscope and facilitate a far-ranging purge of the courts. There may not be enough places for independent-minded judges in the “new” courts, or perhaps they will be exiled someplace far away from their present posts.
The Powerlessness of the Rule of Law: Labels as Decorum
The rule of law reigns in Poland, but does not necessarily govern. And reigning without governing means powerlessness – writes Ewa Łętowska.
Poland: From Paradigm to Pariah? Polish Constitutional crisis – facts and interpretations
An outline of legal and constitututional developments in Poland under the rule of the Law and Justice Party, which include the threat of EU sanctions over reforms to the judiciary and the recently announced and highly controversial Holocaust bill