After EU authorities in Brussels urged economic penalties for actions deemed a threat to judicial independence, the Polish nationalist government could be fined every day for ignoring European court orders.
this European Commission Calling on the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to fine the Polish government every day to “ensure compliance”, a move known as a watershed in the struggle for the rule of law in Central European countries.
It stated that the Polish government failed to comply with court orders to reform disciplinary courts for judges deemed to undermine judicial independence.
After a quick complaint, the European Court of Justice Ordered Poland to suspend most of its judge disciplinary system on July 14, Including the power to impose sanctions on judges’ judgments, and this arrangement is said to undermine their independence. In mid-August, Poland pledges to dissolve the Chamber of Commerce, But the committee said it continues to operate.
The Vice-President of the European Commission Věra Jourová said: “The Disciplinary Chamber is continuing some of its activities against judges, although all these activities should be completely suspended.” “The European Court of Justice’s ruling must be respected throughout the EU. This is in the member states. The necessary conditions for establishing and nurturing the necessary trust with citizens.”
She added that the committee is still “prepared to work with the Polish authorities to find a solution”.
The committee has not yet proposed the amount of the fine, which aims to prevent the government from changing its course as soon as possible.In a similar case in 2017, the Polish government Faced with the threat of a fine of 100,000 euros per day Illegal logging of the ancient Białowieża forest.
In another decision, the committee announced that it would target Poland Failure to comply with the ruling of the European Court of Justice.
Critics of the EU’s approach say that the commission is taking belated hard-line action to defend the rule of law.
“This is a watershed,” said Jakub Jaraczewski, an analyst with the NGO Democracy Report International. “Faced with the rule of law crisis in Poland, the European Commission was considered not decisive and strong enough.”
“The committee finally stepped up the game and showed some sharp teeth. It did so at a very lucky moment-when Poland was seeking all the funds that could boost the economy after the pandemic slowed down.”
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Since the nationalist Law and Justice Party came to power in 2015 and promoted large-scale changes in the judicial system, Poland has been in conflict with the European Union. Warsaw is fighting Brussels on a number of fronts, including LGBTQ+ rights, but the current dispute began in April 2020 when the committee took action against further changes to the judicial system, which is widely believed to undermine judicial independence.
The Polish government rejected these allegations, most recently in a provocative Facebook post by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. “No one will teach us what democracy and the rule of law are, because Poland has a long and noble history of fighting all kinds of totalitarianism and tyrants,” he wrote.
