Poland condemned by the ECHR after an "irregular" appointment to the Constitutional Court
Since the PiS came to power in 2015, the European Court of Human Rights has been regularly seized.
AFP - FREDERICK FLORIN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Since the PiS came to power in 2015, the European Court of Human Rights has been regularly seized.
This time, it was the Constitutional Court that was in the sights.
The European court considers that its composition is "
tainted with illegality
".
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The ECHR considers that the Polish executive and legislative bodies violated the rule of law and the separation of powers by appointing judges to the Constitutional Court.
The decisions taken by these magistrates can therefore be called into question.
In 2015, President Andrzej Duda "
refused to swear in three judges
", yet legally elected by the Diet.
A few months later, after the PiS victory in the legislative elections, the renewed lower house of Parliament had elected three new judges.
These magistrates had thus taken up their duties "
in positions which had already been allocated
", underlines the ECHR.
► To read also:
The EU seizes the Court of Justice on the rule of law in Poland
However, one of these judges took part in a decision for which the European Court of Human Rights had rightly been referred.
A Polish sod production company lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court, but the latter declared the complaint inadmissible in 2017. One of the judges who made the decision was one of the three appointed by the PiS.
The ECHR therefore ruled in favor of this company because of “
irregularities in the appointment of this judge
”.
Observers point out that the ruling could pave the way for any decision involving one of these controversial judges to be called into question, which would wreak havoc on the Polish legal system.
► See also:
Rule of law in Poland: the rights ombudsperson believes that the EU is not tough enough
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Poland
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