“The rule of law in Poland became a smokescreen for shady interests rather than the disinterested expression of an ideal.”
The moves to undermine the rule of law came to a head in June last year, when Parliament passed a bill which gave politicians full control over the appointment and promotion of judges. Huge street protests followed this “attack on the separation of powers”, yet President Duda, who did in fact veto the legislation, proceeded to engage in a power struggle with the La...
On Monday, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly halted an extradition case involving Polish man Artur Celmer, sought in his homeland on drug-trafficking charges, to seek guidance from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg.
Justice Donnelly said “immense” legislative changes to Poland’s judicial system called into question the mutual trust that forms the basis of the European Arrest Warrant system.
This is extremely significant because this is the very first case of this type in the h...