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#Poland: European Judges association suspends Polish National Judicial Council #KRS #RuleofLaw 

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Today (17 September), the European netword for judges (ENCJ) General Assembly gathered in Bucharest to discuss the position of the Polish National Judicial Council, the KRS, in the ENCJ.  The group found that the KRS could no longer be described as independent of the executive (the current PiS government) and legislature and ensure the final responsibility for the support of the judiciary in the independent delivery of justice.  

It was felt that it was a very sad day, as the KRS was one of the founding fathers of the network and their representatives to the network were very much respected and contributed highly to the work of the network, both on the board and in various ENCJ projects over many years. 

The extreme circumstances in Poland at this moment have led to the decision just taken. These circumstances were set out in the paper of the Executive Board which was published on 16 August 2018. 

The Polish government has stated on numerous occasions that it wants to bring the justice system in their country under ‘democratic control’. In their view this is necessary because the judges in their country are a state within a state, and an important part of them are corrupt, lazy or (former) communists. 

No substantial evidence of the ‘systemic wrongs’ the government claims it wants to put right has been brought to the attention of the ENCJ’s Executive Board. For example, no research has been presented about the number of ‘(former) communists’ in the judiciary and how they influence the work of the judiciary. The ENCJ said that this would be ‘surprising' givent that the average age of judges in Poland is between 40 and 45, while Poland left the communist system in 1989. The same goes for research on corruption: only incidental examples came to the attention of the Board with no evidence of systemic corruption.  

The KRS is, for the time being, has been stripped of its voting rights and excluded from participation in ENCJ activities. The ENCJ remains however committed to staying in contact with the KRS. The ENCJ will continue to monitor the situation and is looking forward to the time when the KRS meets the requirements of the ENCJ and can as a result be welcomed back as active Member to the ENCJ. Meanwhile, the ENCJ is prepared to offer its assistance and guidance to the KRS in setting out compliance with the European Standards for Councils for the Judiciary. 

Background 

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The ENCJ aims to improve co-operation between, and good mutual understanding among, the Councils for the Judiciary and the members of the Judiciary of the European Union member states. This objective brings with it a common responsibility to uphold the fundament of our common European legal order, especially the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary within that order. Member states are free to organize their judicial systems in a way that they see fit, but there are some minimum standards that have to be complied with. 

 

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