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Commission v Poland: What Happened, What it Means, What it Will Take
This blog post is dedicated to the European courage of Polish Judge Paweł Juszczyszyn and his colleagues from the Polish Association of Judges, IUSTITIA “La Cour” 9 March 2020. It had been marked in...
View ArticleThe Polish Presidential Campaign in the Shadow of the Pandemic
Various types of states of emergency have been, and in all likelihood will be, introduced or at least contemplated in different states of the world to cope with the COVID 19 crisis. Nowhere is this...
View ArticleAn Election in the Time of Pandemic
In Poland, the Law and Justice (PiS) government has opted not to use its constitutional power to declare a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 spreading. As Wojciech Sadurski explained, its motive...
View ArticleThe Court gives with one hand and takes away with the other
On March 26, the CJEU released a surprising – if not to say disappointing – judgment on the Polish system of disciplinary measures against judges. Despite international criticism, the Polish...
View ArticleDie Unstrittigkeit des Zwecks
Wenn die Bedrohung, wie im Fall des Virus, als natürliche Gegebenheit auftritt, kommen leicht auch die Maßnahmen, um ihn zu beseitigen, als natürliche, d.h. fraglos vorgegebene Maßnahmen in Betracht....
View ArticlePreparing for the Pandemic Elections
There is no doubt that the essential state institutions should function as effectively as possible in the times of pandemic. It also means finding concrete and fast solutions provided in special...
View ArticleIlliberal Constitutionalism at Work
Hungary’s and Poland’s responses to COVID-19 demonstrate how illiberal constitutionalism works in practice. In both countries, national constitutional or sub-constitutional emergency regimes provide...
View ArticleProtecting Polish Judges from the Ruling Party’s “Star Chamber”
1. The third order granting interim measures against Poland on rule of law grounds The European Court of Justice’s order in Case C-791/19 R is the third time the Court has granted the interim measures...
View ArticleInfringement Procedures in the Time of COVID-19
In the last weeks, members of the European Parliament and observers in the legal and academic community have, explicitly or implicitly, criticised the European Commission and the Court of Justice for...
View ArticleThe Constitution as a Bargaining Chip
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Poland’s government is refusing to announce an emergency state, presumably in order to go ahead with the Presidential election on 10 May. Instead, the ruling...
View ArticleCorona Constitutional #15: Polen, die EU und das letzte Wort
Unser heutiges Thema hat mit Corona unmittelbar gar nicht so viel zu tun, mit Krise dafür um so mehr: Es geht um Polen, um das polnische Verfassungsgericht, das in dieser Woche ein Urteil gefällt hat,...
View ArticleThe Green Pact and Rule of Law in the EU
The governments of 13 EU member states have signed a letter calling for a "green" way out of the COVID-19 crisis (although the Czech government has asked the EU to "forget" about its Green Pact)....
View ArticlePoland and Hungary are withdrawing from the EU
Over the past years, the governments of Hungary and Poland have repeatedly defied various EU rules, including the core principles of membership they had subscribed to when acceding to the Union....
View ArticleCorona Constitutional #16: Scheidung auf Europäisch
Wenn Polen und Ungarn sich erkennbar nicht mehr an das EU-Recht gebunden fühlen – was ist das dann anderes als eine Erklärung, nicht mehr Mitglied in der Europäischen Union sein zu wollen? Der Weg zum...
View ArticleOn Doctrinal Contortions and Legal Fetishes
There seems to be a belief – especially persistent among some EU legal scholars – that even the largest political problems can be solved through the law. It suggests that any balance of authority and...
View ArticleWhen Will the EU Commission Act?
Brussels, 28 April 2020 Věra Jourová Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Didier Reynders European Commissioner for Justice Dear Honourable Members of the European...
View ArticlePlague President
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, city councils appointed plague doctors to assist those suffering from the Black Death. Now, in the 21st century, we are about to appoint a plague president in...
View ArticleAppeal to the independent Judges of the Supreme Court
Judges of the Civil Chamber,Judges of the Criminal Chamber, Judges of the Labour Law and Social Security Chamber,Legally appointed Judges of the Supreme Court, We are appealing to you, motivated by...
View ArticleCorona Constitutional #22: Hat Kaczyński sich verrechnet?
An diesem Sonntag wird in Polen ein neuer Präsident gewählt. Offiziell. Die Sache ist nur, dass an diesem Sonntag in Polen kein neuer Präsident gewählt wird. Die Regierung hat keine Wahl organisiert...
View ArticleBetween Constitutional Tragedy and Political Farce
One of the two basic genres of ancient drama is tragedy – fate thwarts all the intentions and actions of the main protagonist, leading him to his doom. In such terms does the governing coalition in...
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