“The enjoyment of the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law is, at this stage, not fulfilled in Polish law” notes Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić in a report published on Wednesday 23 November.
This follows two judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland (24 November 2021 and 10 March 2022) declaring that Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights was not compatible with the Polish Constitution.
This calls into question the exclusive and established competence of the European Court of Human Rights in the application and interpretation of Convention rights, concludes Marija Pejčinović Burić.
She announced that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe would verify, in December, Poland’s compliance with several judgments in which the Court in Strasbourg questioned the legitimacy of the constitution of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland and the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, as well as a judgment in which it noted the lack of an effective remedy after the early dismissal of two court vice-presidents.
Ms Pejčinović Burić hopes that her report “shall serve as a basis for further engagement with the Polish authorities in a constructive dialogue”.
Link to the Secretary General’s report: https://aeur.eu/f/49n (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)