The Court of Justice of the European Union said the Polish Constitutional Tribunal failed to qualify as an independent and impartial court established by law, citing serious irregularities in the appointment of three judges and the tribunal’s president.
The ruling concerned Polish Constitutional Tribunal judgments from July 14 and Oct. 7, 2021, which challenged the primacy of EU law and the authority of EU court rulings. The European Commission filed its complaint in 2023, arguing that Poland had breached its obligations as an EU member state.
EU judges said Poland could not invoke its constitutional identity to avoid respecting shared EU values enshrined in Article 2 of the EU treaty, including the rule of law, effective judicial protection, and judicial independence.
“These values form the legal basis of the Union’s identity, which Poland joined voluntarily,” the court said, adding that member states cannot withdraw from binding obligations after accession.
The court also ruled that national courts cannot unilaterally define the limits of EU competences, which fall under the exclusive authority of EU courts. Disputes over those limits, it said, must be resolved through dialogue with the Luxembourg-based court, including preliminary rulings.
The judges found that the appointment of three Constitutional Tribunal members in December 2015—Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, and Mariusz Muszyński—as well as the appointment of Julia Przyłębska as tribunal president in December 2016, violated fundamental national rules governing judicial nominations.
As a result, the tribunal does not meet EU legal requirements for independence and impartiality, the court said.
The ruling also found that the tribunal breached EU law by refusing to respect earlier rulings of the EU court. In its Oct. 7, 2021 judgment, the tribunal unlawfully denied Polish courts the power to review the legality of judicial appointment procedures, including recommendations made by the National Council of the Judiciary.
In its 14 July 2021 ruling, the tribunal also rejected the binding force of interim measures ordered by the EU court, including orders to suspend the disciplinary chamber of Poland’s Supreme Court. The EU later imposed daily financial penalties on Poland for failing to comply.
By fully upholding the Commission’s complaint, the EU court concluded that Poland had violated its obligations under EU law. The Commission may now seek financial penalties if Poland fails to comply promptly with the judgment.
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Source: IAR, PAP, RMF24