Brussels – ESI at the European parliament: the collapse of rule of law in Poland and what to do

On 20 March ESI's Gerald Knaus and Magdalena Milenkovska visited Brussels to present the latest ESI report: Under Siege – Why Polish courts matter for Europe. 

At a panel discussion in the European Parliament organized by the Norwegian Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, Gerald Knaus together with the co-author of the report Piotr Buras from ECFR, the Polish Commissionaire for Human Rights Adam Bodnar and lawyers from "Free Court" initiative called on the European Commission to take launch an infringement procedure before the European Court of Justice, focusing on the disciplinary regime for judges.

 "Today other member states can learn from Poland how to discipline, intimidate, and limit the independence of judges. If politicians from other Member States implement these solutions in their countries, this will be an existential challenge for the entire Union", warned Gerald Knaus.

"Every faction in the European Parliament that respects European values should support the idea of the European Commission referring to the CJEU[…] This will give politicians and political parties a signal across Europe that the EU institutions are serious, willing and able to protect the fundamental values of the EU and act to make their implementation for the benefit of citizens possible in every Member State.", he added.

Adam Bodnar and Gerald Knaus. Photo: ESI

• ESI-Batory paper:Under Siege – Why Polish courts matter for Europe (22 March 2019)
• ESI-Batory legal opinion: The disciplinary system for judges in Poland – The case for infringement proceedings (22 March 2019)
• OKO.press, Anna Wójcik, "KE powinna zaskarżyć do TSUE represje dyscyplinarne wobec polskich sędziów" ("The European Commission should appeal to the European Court of Justice about the disciplinary measures against Polish judges") (21 March 2019)
• Deutsche Welle, Tomasz Bielecki, "TSUE najlepszy do kontroli praworządności" ("The European Court of Justice is the best tool to control the adherence to the rule of law") (20 March 2019)
• Gazeta Wyborcza, Tomasz Bielecki, "O polskiej praworządności w europarlamencie. Ze wszystkich narzędzi Unii TSUE działa najlepiej" ("In the European Parliament on the rule of law in Poland. From all the tools, the European Court of Justice is the best") (20 March 2019)
• Liberties.eu, György Folk, "Polish Judges in Power Struggle With the Government" (20 March 2019)

Piotr Buras, Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram, Gerald Knaus, Adam Bodnar, Iver Ørstavik, Paulina Kieszkowska-Knapik, and Maria Ejchart-Dubois. Photo: ESI

Magdalena Milenkovska. Photo: ESI