Tag: judicial independence

Authorities want to waive judge Igor Tuleya’s immunity and press criminal charges against him. He would be the first judge to be punished under the infamous muzzle law passed despite domestic and international outcry. Now academics in Poland salute brave judge and express their solidarity with his firm stance in defense of rule of law in Poland

“Justice under pressure – repressions as a means of attempting to take control over the judiciary and the prosecution in Poland in 2015-2019” report was prepared by the Association of Polish Judges “Iustitia” and association of prosecutors “Lex Super Omnia”

The National Prosecution Office has applied for the waiver of Judge Igor Tuleya’s immunity because he ordered an investigation into the Law and Justice vote in the Sejm’s Column Hall. Tuleya will be the first judge to whom the muzzle act will be applied. Because the illegal Disciplinary Chamber will make a decision as to his immunity.

“The amendments of December 2019 diminish judicial independence and put Polish judges into the impossible situation of having to face disciplinary proceedings for decisions required by the ECHR, the law of the European Union, and other international instruments.”

We publish the translation of the opinion published on the Ministry of Justice website for consideration of Rule of Law in Poland readers. This is of course not endorsement.

As far as I can remember, this is the first time that judges from the Netherlands have joined a silent march at all. Marching together with other judges from Europe in another country is unique. And I know it is politically sensitive. It emphasizes how much we are worried about what’s going on in Poland and elsewhere in Europe,” a senior judge of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal explained his reasons for joining Polish colleagues in a silent protest in Warsaw against curbing the independence of judges in Poland.

President of the European Association of Judges, José Igreja Matos, explains why he and other judges will join his Polish colleagues in a silent protest in Warsaw on 11 January against the planned curbs on judicial independence. “The decay of the rule of law in Europe is demanding a more public intervention from us, from European judges”

It breaches the constitution and violates the basic principles of the Polish legal order. It is in conflict with Poland’s obligations to the European Union, it strikes at the guaranteed protection of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the Senate, Adam Bodnar tore the “Repression” Act that is being forced through by Law and Justice to shreds

An annual report by the NGO Freedom House summarizes key developments surrounding the independence of the judiciary in 2018. Poland scored 1 out of 4 on this measure.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki compares current judiciary reforms in Poland to legal cleansing in France after the Second World War