Articles for category: Polen

Ima Polonia

In Hebrew, there’s a figure known as the ima Polonia – the “Polish mother” – a woman who offers love that feels more like emotional leverage than care. Poland’s recent politics have mirrored this dynamic. Between 2015 and 2023, under the alt-right Zjednoczona Prawica government, the image of the woman, be it as judge, activist, or politician, was often instrumentalised to undermine progressive, pro-democratic causes. The government framed its actions as caring rather than punishing (just like ima Polonia), using women not to promote their rights but to support anti-feminist changes.

13. August 2025

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A Constitutional Settlement Is Poland’s Only Hope

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In Poland, the narrow defeat of liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski by the ultra-conservative Karol Nawrocki in the June 1st presidential election marked a turning point. The possibility of restoring the pre-2015 constitutional order has effectively vanished. But this does not mean Polish democracy is doomed. Poland’s European partners must recognize the dramatic shift Polish voters delivered. Rather than fixating on the formal legality—or illegality—of the dizzying array of judicial reforms and counter-reforms enacted since 2015, the time has come to encourage all sides to pursue a national constitutional settlement. This new framework must address not only judicial independence but also the deeper social and political polarization now defining Polish life.

18. Juni 2025

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Anatomy of a Liberal Fall

In Poland, just one week ago, Karol Nawrocki – a virtually unknown, PiS-backed candidate with a murky past – surprisingly defeated Rafał Trzaskowski, deputy leader of the centrist Civic Platform and mayor of Warsaw. How could such a random figure triumph over an experienced and popular politician? In this commentary, I argue that Trzaskowski’s defeat was no accident, but the latest chapter in a longer political story – one shaped by public frustration, broken promises, the emptiness of Polish liberalism, and anti-elitist sentiment present in the society.

11. Juni 2025

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Poland’s Polarised Presidency

The first round of Poland’s presidential election has produced an inconclusive but politically charged outcome. With no candidate achieving an absolute majority, the second round will determine who succeeds Andrzej Duda in the Presidential Palace. This election marks yet another critical moment for Poland. In the short term, its outcome will be pivotal for the current government to deliver on promises concerning the rule of law, the judiciary, and more. In the longer term, winning the presidential race is a strategic stepping stone towards consolidating or reclaiming power.

22. Mai 2025

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In the Name of Primacy

In 1973, Pierre Pescatore noted that “[P]rimacy is an ‘existential requirement’ of EU law”. The Opinion of AG Spielmann in Case C-448/23 (Commission v. Poland), delivered on 11 March 2025, opens with this harsh observation. His difficult task is to frame in legal terms the two essentially political rulings delivered by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal in 2021, where – notoriously – the “captured” domestic court refused to adhere to the most basic principles governing the relationship between national and EU law. This requires adjustments in the current vocabulary of the Luxembourg judges.

22. April 2025

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Restoring Polish Judicial Independence

Restoring the Polish rule of law without doing more damage to it is a vexing challenge. Building Back Better becomes even more complex when the current president – part of the autocratic Law and Justice (PiS) party, which lost the previous elections – refuses to sign off on any law. Yet few would have expected the Venice Commission (VC), of all institutions, to make things even more complicated. This contribution first tracks the state of play in Poland following the VC Opinions of October 2024 and December 2024. Given the central role of the VC’s thinking in Polish efforts to find a way out, it then goes on to critique the Opinions on legal and strategic grounds before proposing an alternative route.  

24. März 2025

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A PR Stunt Over Accountability

In the previous Law and Justice administration, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) had been significantly compromised. Under the Prosecutor General Ziobro, it systemically pursued political and business opponents, quashed dissent, and silenced critical voices. Well over a year has passed since these dark times have officially ended. Poland’s new government has promised to bring justice to the victims and assure accountability for the prosecutors. The Open Dialogue Foundation has analysed the nation-wide audit of the PPO’s cases and concluded – the reality is disappointing.

12. März 2025

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Paying Judges Properly

On 22 February, several thousand marched in Budapest for an independent judiciary, including fair pay for judges. Three days later, the CJEU issued a decision in Joined Cases C‑146/23 and C‑374/23, setting out the EU law criteria for judges’ remuneration. The decision sets general minimum criteria for the remuneration of judges to guarantee their independence and is highly relevant for Hungary, where the salary pathway for judges is not set by law, it is not judicially enforceable, and the entire system lacks foreseeability.

7. März 2025

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Can the Rule of Law Be Restored by Violating Its Principles?

This post concerns one of the crucial problems of transitional constitutionalism after a period of democratic and rule of law backsliding: how to restore the principle of the rule of law? Are there circumstances when, during this restoration, the principles of the rule of law are allowed to be violated? For instance, when the violation of the rule of law was an important tool to exercise arbitrary power, as was the case before the 1989-1990 East-Central European democratic transitions?

3. Januar 2025

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Blinded by Legality

The Venice Commission’s recent opinions on Poland’s judicial reforms have prioritized formal legality over substantive judicial independence. The Commission thereby effectively legitimizes the judiciary captured under the previous autocratic government. The Commission’s shift contrasts sharply with its own prior critiques and European court rulings, raising concerns that the Commission’s stance now shields autocracy under the guise of legality.

23. Dezember 2024

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