The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) published, on Thursday 20 July, two reports in which it noted the inadequacy of the measures implemented in Poland to prevent corruption, firstly among members of parliament, judges and prosecutors, and secondly within central governments (top executive functions).
These reports verify the implementation of recommendations addressed to Poland in 2013 and 2019, and consider it to be “globally unsatisfactory” despite real progress.
In the first text, GRECO examines the reforms of the judiciary implemented by Poland, even though the Polish authorities deny it any legitimacy to do so.
On the other hand, GRECO considers that these reforms are relevant to its field of expertise, in particular because the independence of the judiciary is “an essential pre-condition for the fight against corruption”.
None of the measures recommended by GRECO to change the way judges are elected to the National Council of the Judiciary have been implemented by the Polish authorities, who claim that their appointment by the Lower House of Parliament strengthens the Council’s democratic legitimacy.
GRECO expects further information on the implementation of its various recommendations in March and June 2024.
Links to reports: https://aeur.eu/f/86m ; https://aeur.eu/f/86n (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)