In a letter sent on Tuesday 7 December to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, officially reacts to a recent judgment of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and asks Poland how it ensures “the effective implementation of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights”.
In this judgment of 24 November (case K 6/21), the Polish Constitutional Tribunal also found that Article 6(1) of the Convention, guaranteeing the right to a fair trial was not in conformity with the Polish Constitution in certain circumstances. This judgment calls into question the role of the European Court of Human Rights, the body responsible for giving final rulings on the interpretation of the Convention ratified by the 47 Council of Europe Member States, including Poland.
This “unprecedented” judgment “raises serious concerns”, says Ms Pejčinović Burić, who asks Poland to provide explanations by 27 March 2022.
This procedure corresponds to Article 52 of the Convention, which stipulates that “on receipt of a request from the Secretary General of the Council of Europe any High Contracting Party shall furnish an explanation of the manner in which its internal law ensures the effective implementation of any of the provisions of the Convention”.
Link to the letter: https://bit.ly/3ozSChr (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)