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FOR Communication 3/2024: Do not degrade legislation any further | 2024-02-23
moreIn recent years, the quality of law-making in Poland has significantly deteriorated. Practices such as ignoring procedures, bypassing public consultations, using the deputies’ initiative route for govern-ment projects, and last-minute insertions in the final stage of the legislative process have been a con-stant element of the political landscape. These practices served for the rapid implementation of the ruling party's will at the expense of the quality and transparency of legislation. While these practices were not new, they have particularly become widespread since 2015, a trend also confirmed by empir-ical data. This led to a further erosion of citizens' trust in the state—and worse, it undermined trust in democratic processes.
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FOR Communication 2/2024: Government’s draft act on the National Council of the Judiciary: correct direction, insufficient safeguards | 2024-02-15
moreThe draft amendment to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary presented by the Minister of Justice stipulates a return to the election of the judicial part of the Council by judges. Complemented with the proposal to grant all judges - not just their representatives - an active and passive electoral right, the project aims to ensure the independence of the NCJ and limit the influence of politicians on the judges’ nomination process. Although most of the proposals in the project are reasonable, some of them may preserve the “corporate” nature of the Council and insufficiently guarantee its democratic legitimacy.
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FOR Communication 14/2023: National Political Bank - guarding the party rather than the currency | 2023-07-06
moreAccording to the constitution, the National Bank of Poland is responsible for the value of the Polish currency, and according to the law, its primary objective is to maintain a stable price level. However, during Adam Glapiński's presidency (since June 2016), the accumulated inflation until May 2023 reached 47.6%, which means an average increase of the price level of about 5.7% per annum, while the inflation target is 2.5% with a deviation range of ±1 percentage point. In February this year, inflation reached 18.4% y/y, marking the highest rate in over 26 years.
7 Years of Rule of Law Crisis: How CJEU and ECHR Defended Rule of Law in Poland in 2022? - Patryk Wachowiec, 4Liberty.eu | 2023-03-10
- The Court in Strasbourg played a fundamental role in preventing the crisis by providing temporary protection to fifteen judges affected by repressions of the government. It also extended the protection of judges to instances where they perform functions other than judicial, and began to investigate the real purpose of the violation of their rights by the Polish authorities.
FOR Communication 7/2023: The European Commission sues the politicized Constitutional Tribunal to the CJEU. Will this affect National Recovery Plan? | 2023-03-02
After the Commission's complaints to the Court of Justice regarding judges of common courts and the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Chamber or the so-called Muzzle Act, this time the institution used strongest measure in its arsenal. The complaint that was related to the politicization of the Constitutional Court and its undermining of the foundations of EU law was filed to the court in Luxembourg. Some commentators, as in the case of previous complaints, are of the opinion that the EU does not have the competence to take action regarding Polish courts. This is a myth that should be scattered in the context of the CT case. Finally, one should consider the impact of this complaint on the possible payment of funds to Poland from the Recovery Fund.
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FOR Communication 5/2023: Administrative court protecting the rule of law. FOR’s successful intervention | 2023-02-07
moreThe December ruling of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gdańsk (case III SA/Gd 1173/21) is indisputably a breakthrough. For the first time, the administrative court overruled the order of the president of the court, ordering a month-long break in the duties of a judge, having previously considered itself competent to review this act.
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7 years of the rule of law crisis. How CJEU and ECHR defended the rule of law in Poland in 2022? | 2022-12-29
moreThe passing year of the rule of law crisis in Poland was mainly dominated with the issue of the "milestones" attached to the RRP and the disagreement within the ruling coalition as to how to achieve them. On the other hand, at the European level, both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights were extremely active in Polish cases. Let us look at their activities.
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Supreme Court and RRP. Can we count on funds from the EU Recovery Fund? | 2022-07-25
moreWhen presenting the Commission with the recently implemented amendment to the Supreme Court Act, it will be difficult for the government to convince it to pay the first tranche from the Recovery Fund - especially since the Commission's management's first comments indicate that the adopted amendments are insufficient to meet the proposed milestones.
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Under the Guise of Openness, Solidarna Polska is Proposing Regulations Native to Russia and Hungary. NGOs as the Target | 2022-07-11
Under the noble slogan of increasing the openness of public life, Solidarna Polska MPs actually want to make information of a private nature public, which is in keeping with the negative climate created by the current government around the non-governmental environment, including those organizations whose goals are not approved by the ruling majority. It is therefore not surprising that the commented proposal is confusingly reminiscent of Russian and Hungarian solutions deemed to violate human rights. The draft law should therefore be assessed unequivocally critically.more
Poland’s state of emergency on Belarus border explained - Patryk Wachowiec, Notes from Poland | 2021-09-06
The officially stated purpose is to ensure public order amid an ongoing surge in attempts to cross the border illegally. However, taking into account events at the border and the government’s track record, there are legitimate doubts as to the real reasons behind such an extraordinary measure.