Articles for tag: Academic Freedom, EU, Poland, Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation

Historians on Trial

On 9 February 2021, the District Court in Warsaw ruled that two prominent Holocaust researchers must publicly apologize for statements published in a book about the extermination of Jews in Nazi Germany-occupied Poland during the Second World War. The lawsuit is an example of strategic litigation aimed at intimidating researchers and exercising a chilling effect on the debate in Poland due to the involvement of an organization close to the government and framing of the case in pro-government public and private media. In March, courts in Poland handed judgments in two other important strategic lawsuits brought on criminal charges.

11. März 2021

, , ,

Judiciaries Must Build Support in Societies

The continuous attack on the judiciary in Poland, starting with the subjugation of the Constitutional Court, have shown that legal safeguards provide only an illusionary protection in case both the national legislator and the Constitutional Court have been taken over by politicians who do not believe in the rule of law. Why is it relatively easy for governments to push judiciaries over? They have a fundamental weakness: their lack of connection with society. Judiciaries have a strong tendency to solely rely on legal protections, instead of also on public support.

4. Februar 2021

, ,

1825 Days Later: The End of the Rule of Law in Poland (Part II)

On 13 January 2016, exactly five years ago today, the Commission activated the so-called rule of law framework for the very first time with respect to Poland. Ever since, the Polish authorities’ sustained and systematic attacks on the rule of law directly threaten the very functioning of the EU legal order. Part II of this series examines the key rulings of 2020 and urges EU authorities to act.

18. Januar 2021

, , ,

1825 Days Later: The End of the Rule of Law in Poland (Part I)

On 13 January 2016, exactly five years ago today, the Commission activated the so-called rule of law framework for the very first time with respect to Poland. Ever since, the Polish authorities’ sustained and systematic attacks on the rule of law directly threaten the very functioning of the EU legal order. In what has become an annual series of dire warnings, this is an overview of the 2020 developments regarding the deterioration of the rule of law in Poland.

13. Januar 2021

, , ,

Filling the Polish ECtHR judgeship – risking (another) empty seat?

The Polish judgeship at the ECtHR must be filled, as the term of Judge Krzysztof Wojtyczek is due to expire on 31 October 2021. The Polish Government has submitted a list of three candidates. Due to the lack of fairmess, inclusiveness and transparency of the procedure, it is likely that the seat of the Polish judge will remain vacant.

14. Dezember 2020

, , ,

Keine Verstärkte Zusammenarbeit zu Lasten aller

Das Aufbauinstrument „Next Generation Europe“ (NGEU) soll die EU-Mitgliedstaaten finanziell dabei unterstützen, die Folgen der Corona-Pandemie zu bewältigen. Zur Umsetzung ist ein Eigenmittelbeschluss erforderlich, über den der Rat einstimmig entscheiden muss und den die Mitgliedstaaten ratifizieren müssen (Art. 311 Abs. 3 AEUV). Ungarn und Polen haben allerdings zu erkennen gegeben, dass sie dieser Entscheidung (gegenwärtig) nicht zustimmen wollen. Dies hat zu politischen Forderungen im Europäischen Parlament geführt, NGEU im Wege der Verstärkten Zusammenarbeit umzusetzen. Die EU könne „das Veto von Ungarn und Polen umgehen“, heißt es etwa in der FAZ. Bei genauem Hinsehen erweist sich das als Trugschluss.

20. November 2020

, ,

What’s in the Words

It is plain worrisome when judges need to end up at the European Court of Justice on the argument that what they have available at home is no longer a proper court. 22 September 2020 was such a day for two veritable Polish and therefore European judges: Judge Waldemar Żurek and Judge Monika Frąckowiak. More than a legal fight, it is a battle of and for ideas, playing out – literally – in open court.

24. September 2020

, , ,

To Shoot Down a Judge

Waldemar Żurek, a Polish Judge tirelessly campaigning to preserve the independence of Polish courts, has probably endured every kind of repression that those in power have in their arsenal, save for being suspended as a judge. He was transferred against his will to another division in his court, harassed with anonymous threats over the phone and in emails and is now facing Kafkaesque claims of criminal misconduct.

8. Juni 2020

, ,

Between Constitutional Tragedy and Political Farce

One of the two basic genres of ancient drama is tragedy – fate thwarts all the intentions and actions of the main protagonist, leading him to his doom. In such terms does the governing coalition in Poland attempt to present what befell the presidential elections in Poland – just a few days before the elections, the leaders of the two coalition parties issued the decision that the elections would not take place on the planned and constitutional dates. Was it indeed the lack of cooperation from the opposition, despite the strenuous attempts and herculean efforts of the government, that made it necessary to postpone the elections?

15. Mai 2020

,