The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has voted to bring in Poland under its monitoring mechanism, in the wake of the country’s reforms of the judiciary and justice system that “severely damage the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law”.
Since 2015, Poland has introduced highly regressive laws aiming to bring the nation’s courts in line with the ruling party’s interests. Last week, it adopted the so-called “muzzle law”, which would allow authorities to arbitrarily discipline and fire judges and prosecutors for not aligning themselves with the government’s objectives.
The monitoring mechanism involves regular in-country visits by a pair of PACE rapporteurs, ongoing dialogue with the authorities, and periodic assessments of how well a member State is honouring its Council of Europe obligations and commitments. Poland joins ten other countries currently under this mechanism–Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
PACE called on the authorities to “revisit the total reform package for the judiciary and amend the relevant legislation and practice in line with Council of Europe recommendations.”
Image Source: Al Jazeera