Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation threaten human rights and democracy. The EU must act

“The problem of SLAPPs against journalists, activists, and human rights defenders must be addressed on the EU level. Legislative action is needed. The EU anti-SLAPP Directive and Council of Europe Recommendations are fundamental to raise awareness about SLAPPs dangers and to lead to a change ” – argue lawyers and researchers of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom

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Orbán wants to further restrict the independent media. Hungary is a warning to Poland

Fidesz’s media empire keeps pushing the message that the entire opposition and the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony are “rooting for coronavirus”, naming them as “the coalition of the death” – Edit Zgut on the media landscape and its prospects in Hungary

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TVP received PLN 5.9 bn of state aid in 4 years. In addition, hundreds of millions from state-owned companies and institutions

Polish national television, Telewizja Polska, mocks the media protest against taxing advertising. It does not have to worry about the new levy itself – the majority of its revenue is state aid. It has received PLN 5.9 billion since 2016. Added to that, hundreds of millions from orders from state institutions and advertisements from state-owned companies

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First president of the Supreme Court tries to remove judges who approached the CJEU

The First President of the Supreme Court Malgorzata Manowska is attempting to remove four ‘old’ judges from cases in which questions were asked of the CJEU. ‘The groundless request is a pretext for eliminating me from the case,’ believes Judge Krzysztof Rączka.

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Will Judge Igor Tulea be apprehended by force? 

Judge Tuleya will not come to the National Prosecutor’s Office for questioning for the second time. However, the Prosecutor’s Office is announcing that it will conduct ‘activities’ with respect to the judge. This means at least that he will be apprehended and brought to the prosecutor’s office by the police.

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Media in Poland protest against the planned ‘advertising tax’. This means bankruptcy for many media and limits to pluralism

‘Advertising ‘contributions’ will mean the weakening or even liquidation of some media operating in Poland,’ write media publishers in Poland in a letter to the authorities. The government wants to introduce a new levy under the pretext of fighting the Covid pandemic.

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Declaration of retired judges of the Constitutional Tribunal of 24 January 2021

The situation of a further threat to the rule of law is prompting retired judges of the Constitutional Tribunal to express their utmost concern and to inform the public.

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The Constitutional Tribunal has gone on holiday. In 2019, it handed down the fewest judgements in 20 years

The statistics on the work of the Constitutional Tribunal in 2019 give a picture of the Tribunal’s work in its third year under the presidency of judge Julia Przyłębska. The results are not impressive

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How should the new European Court of Human Rights judge from Poland be? Lech Garlicki explains

In 2021, the term of office of the Polish judge on the European Court of Human Rights will end. The Foreign Ministry does not want to reveal who has entered the competition. What are the stakes of this choice? Prof. Lech Garlicki, a former judge on the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland and the EtCHR, explains

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Will the convicted supervise the judges in Poland?

In the Ministry of Justice, convicted persons without a higher education degree will be able to supervise courts and judges. An amendment to this end, using the insertion method, has been included in PiS’s draft amendment to the act on misdemeanours.

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