The European Commission has presented its annual Justice Scoreboard. The agency wants to give an overview of the independence, quality and efficiency of the justice systems in the EU Member States. The study shows some significant differences between the individual countries.
According to this, citizens in Germany in the first instance have to wait an average of 204 days for a judgment in a civil or economic process. In Italy, at the bottom of the statistics, the duration of proceedings in the first instance is on average 548 days. According to the report, the judicature in the verdict has slowed down in almost all EU countries in recent years. The average waiting time in Germany in 2017 was 190 days. Not all EU countries had data for the duration of the proceedings in all three instances.
The findings on independence also cause concern among those responsible. Accordingly, more and more Poles doubt the independence of local judges and courts. Every second person thinks the situation is "very bad" (20 percent) or "pretty bad" (30 percent). "This reflects our concerns about the judiciary in Poland," said EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourová.
Germany is one of the top places in the EU ranking. 22 percent consider the situation in Germany to be "very good", 52 percent to "pretty good".
Two years ago, according to the report, significantly fewer Poles had a negative assessment of the situation of the domestic judiciary. In 2017, 11 percent of respondents perceived the independence of judges and courts as "very bad," 26 percent as "pretty bad." Poland's national conservative PiS government has comprehensively reformed the country's judiciary over the past few years - and subordinated to it, critics say. The EU Commission has therefore launched several sanctions against the country.
According to the report of the Brussels authority, in Poland the appointment of the body which adjudicates disciplinary sanctions against judges is unusual. Poland is therefore the only country in the EU where the Minister of Justice decides on the appointment of this body. Jourová spoke of an "extraordinary power" of the minister.
But in other countries, citizens have doubts about the independence of their judiciary. In Croatia, 76 percent said they were "pretty bad" or "very bad", compared with 60 percent in Slovakia and 58 percent in Bulgaria. In the EU average, the value is 33 percent. "There are still too many EU citizens who do not consider their justice systems as independent," Jourová said.
Many interviewees argue that their own government is putting a lot of pressure or interfering with it. In addition, the economy exerts pressure on the judiciary.