Poland : another episode of 'rule of law backsliding' - Judgment P 7/20 and a threat to the integrity of the EU legal order

Abstract

Since 2015, Poland’s Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) Government has engaged in a process of “rule of law backsliding” (hereafter “backsliding”) whereby it has deliberately eroded checks and balances with the aim of entrenching itself in power. Since then, the regime has inter alia eradicated effective judicial review by subordinating the Constitutional Tribunal to its will and introduced a disciplinary regime through the creation of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, tasked with sanctioning judges criticising the PiS’ judicial reforms or failing to adjudicate in line with the government’s agenda. In so doing, the regime has persistently undermined judicial independence by increasing the control of the legislative and executive branches on the functioning and “outputs” of the judiciary. The purpose of this essay is to illustrate how the most recent iteration of Polish backsliding—through the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal in case P 7/20—threatens the integrity of the EU’s legal order and, in turn, the future of the EU itself.