Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has signed the latest of several bills drawn up by the ruling Prawo i Sprawiedliwość [PiS] party aimed at bringing the Supreme Court under its control. This Court, headed by a strong critic of the government’s attack on the judiciary, is effectively the last bastion after systematic moves since 2015 to reign in all other judicial bodies and install loyal people in top posts. There is still a chance of defending democracy and rule of law in Poland, but the danger could not be greater. For months now, there have been calls from all of Poland’s former leaders; Solidarity heroes; the Human Rights Ombudsman; the legal profession; human rights groups and ordinary citizens for the EU to help save the Supreme Court. This is easily within the European Commission’s scope since it can lodge a challenge against the law with the EU’s Court of Justice, which could put a hold on the law’s implementation pending its ruling.
This would be all the more warranted given the judgment issued on 25 July by the same Court of Justice of the European Union in response to a question raised by Justice Aileen Donnelly regarding extradition of a Polish national from Ireland. The Court had been asked to determine if EU judges can and should consider whether a person would get a fair trial in Poland, an EU country, considering the changes underway in that country.
