Independence of the judiciary and the rule of law have been almost completely absent from the presidential campaign in Poland. But the result of the elections will fundamentally affect these areas. We discuss two scenarios: if the incumbent president Andrzej Duda wins, and if his challenger Rafał Trzaskowski wins.

Concerted effort of the CJEU and the ECtHR may result in the hindering of some of the negative effects of changes in the judiciary. So far it has been the CJEU that has been active, with the courageous involvement of national judges and civil society – writes prof. Adam Bodnar, the Commissioner for Human Rights

Two disciplinary hearings for Judge Waldemar Żurek will be held at the Court of Appeal in Katowice on Friday, 3 July. Each of them applies to different charges which the disciplinary commissioners have brought against the judge. Only eight people will be able to enter the courtroom each time as the public. The hearings will be held one after the other. Such an order was issued by the president of the Katowice Court of Appeal – Witold Mazur, nominated by Zbigniew Ziobro, privately, the brother of the head of the new NCJ.

“We expect an amendment that will provide effective protection against attacks motivated by prejudice, including on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, age, gender and disability; that is, those discriminatory features that currently do not have any such protection in Polish law” – distinguished Polish lawyers appeal to candidates in the election to become President of the Republic of Poland

The Chamber of Extraordinary Verification and Public Affairs (IKNiSP) has revoked a resolution by the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) which recommended judge Dariusz Pawłyszcze, a judge associated with Zbigniew Ziobro’s Ministry of Justice, to sit on the Supreme Court. The National Council of the Judiciary justified its decision in terms of the “favourable opinion of the Minister of Justice”, among other things. Judge Waldemar Żurek has appealed against the KRS’s resolution.

In my opinion, each of the two points of the CJEU order is sufficient for the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court to stop all judicial activity with regard to judges, until the final judgment is delivered by the CJEU or until the safeguard order is amended, Adam Bodnar emphasizes.

This is not the first time that we have escaped from the bounds of the Constitution simply to avoid implementing functions of the state that have been established by the nation – warns prof. Mirosław Wyrzykowski

Kaczyński’s outburst of 4 June 2020 has a political dimension and may be harmful to President Duda’s campaign

The letter from the European Commission is a confirmation that the homophobic resolutions passed by local governments in Poland have legal consequences, violate the rights of their residents, and should conform to EU values. It also opens the way to EU funds being blocked – right now

“I appeal to you and members of the Polish Government to refrain from statements that are factually incorrect or diverge from legal fact when assessing the activities of the European Union,” writes Adam Bodnar, Poland’s Commissioner for Human Rights (CHR), in a letter to PM Mateusz Morawiecki