The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Poland’s December 2019 law on the independence and privacy of judges was incompatible with EU law, in a judgment handed down on Monday 5 June (Case C-204/21).
The Commission had lodged an appeal against the law giving the Polish Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber, whose independence and impartiality are not guaranteed, jurisdiction to rule on cases directly affecting the status of judges and the performance of their duties.
This law also prohibits national courts from reviewing compliance with the EU requirements relating to an independent and impartial tribunal previously established by law and establishes such a review as a disciplinary offence. The Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court is deemed to have exclusive jurisdiction to carry out such reviews.
In its judgment, the Court relies on the opinion of the Advocate General and upholds the Commission’s action (see EUROPE 13085/33).
According to the Court, in exercising their power concerning the organisation of justice, Member States must comply with the obligations arising from EU law and avoid any regression, in relation to the rule of law, in their legislation that could, for example, undermine the independence of judges. And they cannot avoid these obligations by relying on national provisions or case law, including constitutional provisions and case law.
Relying on its previous case law (case C-791/19 - see EUROPE 12763/7), the European Court reiterates its assessment that the Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber does not satisfy the requirement of independence and impartiality. In the view of the Court, the mere prospect of such a body being able to rule on issues relating to the status of judges and the performance of their duties, in particular by authorising criminal proceedings against them or adopting decisions concerning essential aspects of labour law, social security or retirement, is likely to affect their independence.
Thirdly, the Court takes the view that the contested Polish law is incompatible with the guarantees of access to an independent and impartial tribunal previously established by law. It considers that the imprecise nature of the provisions of the contested law and the particular context in which they were adopted may prevent national courts from assessing whether they themselves or a judge meet the requirements of EU law.
Moreover, the monopolistic control reserving to a chamber of the Supreme Court the power to verify compliance with essential requirements relating to effective judicial protection also infringes EU law, the CJEU ruled.
Lastly, in the Court’s view, the national provisions requiring judges to submit a written declaration indicating their membership of a political association or party, and providing for that information to be posted online, infringe the fundamental rights of those judges to respect for private life and also expose judges to a risk of undue stigmatisation.
During the proceedings, in October 2021, Poland was ordered by the Vice-President of the Court to pay a penalty payment of €1 million per day (see EUROPE 12821/1), which was reduced in April to €500,000 (see EUROPE 13167/13). The effects of this order come to an end with today’s judgment closing the case.
Prior to the judgment, a Commission spokesperson had indicated that the EU institution had made 16 payment requests totalling more than “€500 million” over the period from November 2021 to April 2023. Instead of paying the fines imposed, equivalent reductions in the payment of European funds will be made.
To see the Court’s judgment (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/78a (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)