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08 November 2021 "Poland must act quickly to solve the problem of the lack of independence of the National Council of the Judiciary", created by the 2017 justice reform. that the reform has had on respect for the rights of judges.
The case on which the ECHR has expressed itself this time, which has received 57 files against the Polish justice reform, concerns two judges who were refused the appeal they made against the decision not to accept their request to be moved to another judicial seat.
Their appeal was rejected by the Chamber for Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs, one of the two entities created within the Supreme Court following the justice reform.
According to the two magistrates, this Chamber cannot be considered "an independent court" because its members are all appointed through a procedure involving the new CSM, which in turn is made up of judges appointed by the parliament, rather than their peers.
The ECHR agreed with the two applicants, also indicating that Poland will have to compensate them 15 thousand euros each for moral damages.
In the ruling, the ECHR states that the "appointment of judges was unduly influenced by the legislative and executive power, and that this constitutes an irregularity that compromised the legitimacy of the Chamber for extraordinary review and public affairs and negatively influenced the case of the two judges ".
Furthermore, the ECHR harshly criticizes the Polish president, stating that he acted "in flagrant violation of the rule of law when he appointed the judges of the Chamber for the extraordinary review and public affairs despite a ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court that suspended this possibility".