The “Muzzle Act” takes effect 14 February. Public opinion is focused on the Disciplinary Chamber, but it is the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber that will serve to smother oversight of judges recommended by the new National Council of the Judiciary. This chamber will accept all relevant motions and simply leave them unexamined. In addition, any resolutions it passes will be binding on the entire Supreme Court.

Twenty-two former members of the Constitutional Tribunal, including eight retired presidents and vice-presidents, say the court has ceased to perform its constitutional tasks and duties. They note the pending spurious dispute on the Supreme Court resolution, and particularly the participation of two former MPs in the bench, that compromise the court’s independence.

Court of Justice holds that domestic courts are to review the independence of the new National Council of the Judiciary and the Disciplinary Chamber

The Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court has suspended Paweł Juszczyszyn indefinitely for his attempt to review the legality of the new National Council of the Judiciary and the status of a judge that body appointed. The Disciplinary Chamber ruled that he had no right to do so. The judge’s defenders announced that he would show up for work because the Disciplinary Chamber’s decisions are illegal.

Rule of Law presents an open letter from Professor John Morijn to EC Vice President Vera Jourova.

Independent media are a vital element of liberal democracy. Zselyke Csaky explains changes in the Hungarian legal and media market landscape and how media in other countries can learn to be more resilient against government pressure.

Judges from Kraków and Słupsk, as well as judges’ associations, want justices promoted by the new National Council of the Judiciary to refrain from hearing cases. In Łódź, one such judge decided on his own to stop adjudicating, and the court’s president has stopped assigning him new cases. This is a reaction to the historic resolution taken by the College of the Supreme Court.

Prof. Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, explains why mutual trust and judicial independence are of fundamental importance to the EU Member States 

The following is an English translation of the decision taken by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal to suspend the Supreme Court resolution of 23 January.

The Supreme Court’s resolution avoids the competence dispute that political decisions sought to force it into. In its resolution of 23 January, it explained what an independent court is. It also told judges to be careful when ruling, for them to be sure they and their colleagues are all above board.