Disciplinary Proceedings as an Instrument for Breaking the Rule of Law in Poland

Abstract

This article advances the thesis that disciplinary proceedings may constitute a tool for breaking the rule of law in Poland. In 2017, as part of a package of legal changes to the judiciary, a disciplinary system was created in Poland to ensure that judges were subservient to the political will of the authorities. From the beginning, new disciplinary officers appointed by the Minister of Justice (the Prosecutor General) have targeted judges who disagree with unconstitutional changes to the judiciary. Disciplinary proceedings are by no means repressions that affect judges who demand that other authorities respect the rule of law in Poland. The article discusses, on a step by step basis, the practical mechanisms taken by the political authorities to break the rule of law in Poland. Particular attention is paid to the measures which have been taken concerning the judiciary. The article discusses the judgment of the CJEU on 19 November 2019 in combined cases C-585/18, C-624/18, and C-625/18 and the implementing resolution of the combined Civil, Criminal and Labour and Social Insurance Chambers of the Supreme Court on 23 January 2020 as well as the collapse of the rule of law in Poland from a practical perspective. The analysis of the recent events shows that after the so-called Muzzle Law (A bill amending the Act on the Organization of Ordinary Courts, the Act on the Supreme Court and the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary was submitted on 12 December 2019, and then voted on by the parliamentary majority in the lower house of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) on 20 December 2019.) came into force, the application of the resolution of the combined Civil, Criminal and Labour and Social Insurance Chambers of the Supreme Court on 23 January 2020 implementing the CJEU judgment in the joined cases C-585/18, C-624/18, and C-625/18 of 19 November 2019 can be and, in fact, is penalized by further disciplinary proceedings, which constitutes a real threat to the already weakened rule of law. Institutions and, above all, judges who are safeguarding the rule of law are being destroyed.

Attack or reform: Systemic interventions in the judiciary in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia

“…The situation in Poland is now well-documented (Zoll and Wortham 2018, Sadurski 2018, 2019b, Śledzińska-Simon 2018, Mazur and Žurek 2018, Wyrzykowski 2019, Gajda-Roszczynialska and Markiewicz 2020, Pech et al 2021.…”

Untitled

“…31 (Gajda-Roszczynialska & Markiewicz, 2020), the Polish judicial disciplinary panel law enacted legislation approved by the Sejm (223 to 205) on 20 December 2019, the bill allows the Supreme Court of Poland's Disciplinary Chamber to punish judges who are involved in "political activity," as well as condemning and criticism of the panel's political independence. 32 Furthermore, Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a court case "Commission v Poland has held that the state of Poland "had failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law". As a result, the Court ruled in favor of "the Commission's application for interim measures" which will most likely be accomplished by monetary penalties (fines).…”

Protecting the rights of judges: the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Juszczyszyn v Poland and Tuleya v. Poland

“…3 Among the Court's key judgments in this area are those in the cases of Juszczyszyn v. Poland 4 and Tuleya v. Poland. 5 The applicants in these cases were independent Polish judges subjected to harassment by disciplinary authorities during the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) rule (in 2015-2023). This article discusses the most critical conclusions of both judgments.…”