Tag: Supreme Court

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.

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 Assembly of Representatives of the Judges of the Region of the Regional Court in Warsaw points out that the method of forming a part of the membership of the National Council of the Judiciary through the appointment by the Sejm of 15 judges gives rise to serious reservations as to its compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and EU standards

There are times when history goves us a choice, write Polish NGOs to President Andrzej Duda

Judge Darisz Mazur on the changes in the Supreme Court of Poland including Disciplinary Chamber and Chamber of Extraordinary Claim and Internal Affairs

How is it that suddenly, out of nowhere, Poland, the precocious child of transformation, seems to be returning to the culture of mono-power?

A dramatic change occurred in Polish constitutional politics in 2015: a combined presidential and
parliamentary victory of the populist Law and Justice party [PiS] began a series of deep political and
legal changes which turned the constitutional order on its head in many respects.
In this paper, I provide a detailed account of how comprehensive and momentous the legal changes
are, in particular going so far as to dismantle institutional checks on the government (including
paralysis the Constitution al Tribunal, and then conversion of it into an active supporter of the government) and
to erode a number of individual and political rights, such as the right to assembly and privacy.

Last month, the new Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pushed two bills through parliament that gave his government and his party increased control over Poland’s courts. Just before the laws were signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda on Dec. 20, Morawiecki chose to address the American people and defend this decision in the pages of the Washington Examiner.