On Monday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) urged Poland to address its concerns over rule of law and judicial reforms in the country. The Court also called on Poland to take quick action to resolve the lack of independence in its national council.
The latest ruling was concerning two Polish judges who complained that their rights were violated when they were rejected for judicial positions. The two judges, Monika Joanna Dolinska-Ficek and Artur Ozimek, complained of a lack of impartiality and independence in Polish courts. Dolińska-Ficek is a district-court judge in Mysłowice while Ozimek is a regional-court judge in Lublin. Both had applied for judicial positions elsewhere in 2017-2018 but were rejected by the National Council of the Judiciary. Subsequently, they appealed against their rejections in the Supreme Court, which is now overseen by a new Chamber that dismissed their appeals in 2019.
The Court ruled that the country had violated the judges’ right to appeal and fair trial, stating: “The procedure for appointing judges was unduly influenced by the legislative and executive branches. This was a fundamental irregularity which undermined the whole process.” The ECHR thus asked Warsaw to pay €15,000 to each judge for the damages incurred.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Deputy Justice Minister, Sebastian Kaleta, criticised the judgement in a tweet, writing: “The ECHR issued another judgment in which it challenges the Polish National Council of the Judiciary, taking into account the bizarre principle that there are states of mature democracies that may have an extremely political way of selecting judges (Germany) and states requiring guardianship (Poland).” Kaleta further accused the court of unfairly targeting Poland and questioning the provision.
The dispute between Poland and the European Union over rule of law and judicial independence in the country has gone on for years. The controversy first erupted after Poland constituted a new Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Polish Supreme Court to nominate judges in 2017. Monday’s ruling stated that the establishment of this Chamber was not by law.
The Polish government has defended the constitution of the new Chamber by saying it is necessary to rid the judiciary of Communism. However, critics claim that this step would limit the independence of the courts. To this end, the ECHR said it has received 57 complaints related to Poland’s judicial reforms since 2017.
Just last month, the European Court of Justice fined Poland €1 million per day for its controversial judicial reforms. The sanctions were to remain in place until Warsaw suspended the disciplinary chamber of judges of the Supreme Court and would be deducted from the European Union’s funds that it periodically receives.
EU Court Pushes Poland To Address Concerns Over Rule of Law and Judicial Independence
The European Court of Human Rights asked Poland to compensate two judges for violating their right to a free trial and urged the country to address concerns over rule of law and judicial independence.
November 9, 2021
SOURCE: GLOBAL TIMES