The expected ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal would confirm that the current Polish National Council of Judiciary (KRS), suspended from the European Networks of Councils of Judiciary in September 2018, is legal and capable of guaranteeing independence of judiciary, which critics claim it is not

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”.

‘Why was the hearing cancelled? Either there is a problem with the unanimity of the judges, while the Tribunal likes to speak as one in political matters, or the leaders of the party and the government stopped the consideration of the case, fearing a suspected Polexit.’ argues Ewa Siedlecka in her article

3007 judges (91 p/c of all those who took part in the vote) are convinced that the new National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) is not performing the tasks it should and 2881 of them believe it should resign. These are the results of a referendum in as many as 139 courts to date. The referendum is underway in the remaining courts. Poland has ca 10 000 judges

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.

Explanation and interpretation of the nature and possible causes of the the “Polish constitutional crisis”, i.e. backsliding on the part of Poland into authoritarianism. Firstly, historical – unique nature of the Polish transition from Communism to democracy. Secondly, legal explanation ascribes the crisis to the immaturity of Polish legal culture, in particular its excessive formalism. Third explanation is sociological and interprets the Crisis as one of liberal values in contemporary Polish society.

The democratic backsliding is not just another crisis of governance. Rather it strikes at the very core of the initial bargain that brought states together. Therefore the constitutional redesign should go beyond legal and procedural patching and include renewed acknowledgement of the common values and interests and involving people, beyond states and markets

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