Status: 07/22/2021 5:15 p.m.
Many complaints are pending before the European Court of Human Rights because of the Polish judicial reform. Now the court has sentenced Poland for the third time. The judges criticize “improper” political influence.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has sentenced Poland for the third time in three months for its judicial reforms. The Strasbourg judges found that the appointment of members of a controversial disciplinary body at the Polish Supreme Court was “unduly influenced by the legislative and executive branches”. This “fundamental irregularity” seriously calls into question the legitimacy of the body.
PiS: Against corruption and other misconduct
The right-wing nationalist ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) set up the disciplinary chamber in 2018. It is responsible for disciplinary proceedings against judges and can also suspend them. The PiS pretends to act against corruption, other misconduct and against the “legacy of communism” in the judicial system.
Doubts about political independence
Critics, including the EU Commission, accuse the government in Warsaw of undermining the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers. As a result of a complaint by the Commission, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (ECJ) ruled last week that the disciplinary body violated EU law.
The Luxembourg judges also criticized the lack of political independence of the disciplinary body. Another problem is that purely substantive court decisions can be classified and punished as disciplinary offenses. This enables “political control of court decisions” and the “exertion of pressure on judges”.
ECHR: 15,000 euros in damages
The judges of the Strasbourg ECHR examined the Polish regulation because of a complaint by a lawyer for its compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights. They came to the conclusion that the disciplinary body could not be a legal body within the meaning of the Convention and sentenced Poland to pay 15,000 euros in damages to the lawyer – a relatively high sum for the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
There are other lawsuits pending in the human rights court over the Polish judicial reforms – there are 38 in total. In May the court had already convicted Poland for the “irregular” appointment of a constitutional judge. A conviction for the removal of two judges followed in June.
EU institutions are also arguing with Warsaw
The EU institutions are also at odds with Warsaw because of the judicial reforms and other points in numerous proceedings. On Tuesday, the Brussels Commission gave the Polish government an ultimatum: by August 16, it had to explain how it intends to comply with the EU judicial decisions on the disciplinary body. Otherwise there is a risk of a fine.
The PiS government has so far not been impressed by the various proceedings and convictions.