Frans Timmermans spoke with journalists on Tuesday, 19 February 2019, just prior to another debate in the General Affairs Council of the EU over breach of rule of law within the Article 7 TEU procedure initiated against Poland. This was the first meeting of the Council since the Polish government presented its report on 11 December 2018

The Polish Constitutional Court, once a proud institution and an effective check on the will of the majority, is now a shell of its former self

Since 2015, Poland has been facing an ongoing constitutional crisis which affects the work and position of the judiciary. The numerous legal changes concerning the work of the courts (from top-rank courts such as the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court to common courts) as well as prosecution were accompanied by smear campaigns and attacks against judges and certain prosecutors.

Provisions subordinating the judiciary to the executive (including disciplinary proceedings against judges), which are completely incompatible with European standards, are still in place.

The Justice Defence Committee (KOS) published a report entitled “A country that punishes. Pressure and repression of Polish judges and prosecutors”. The main objective of the report is to present how new disciplinary mechanisms in the judiciary and public prosecution service are being used as tools of political pressure and intimidation.

The Supreme Court has not been the sole judicial institution under attack by the ruling majority. Since November 2015 the PiS has been increasing political control over other key bodies of the system, including the Constitutional Tribunal, the prosecution, the National Council of Judiciary, and ordinary courts.

The new Supreme Court Act came into effect on 1 January – the Supreme Court judges previously forced to retire are coming back to work. PiS ultimately gave up despite stalling for time until the last moment. Yet the fight for the rule of law continues, and Brussels has no plans to quit. In 2019, the Court of Justice will rule on the politicisation of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS)

Reporting to the European Commission on the implementation of its recommendations regarding rule of law, the Law and Justice government is demanding the end of the procedure implemented under Article 7 of the Treaty on the EU. In the report, the government makes unsubstantiated claims that the changes into judiciary are addressing ‘high public expectations’

Judge Stanisław Zabłocki, President of the Supreme Court and chairman of the Criminal Chamber, has announced his retirement in conjunction with recent modifications to the court’s rules that force heads of chambers to assign cases to appointees whose status is presently being questioned before the European Court of Justice.

The Justice Defence Committee (KOS) presented a report on radical changes in the system of disciplinary responsibility of judges, which appeared together with the Supreme Court Act of December 2017. The report documents the repression that the government applies to prosecutors and judges.