#EuropeDontGiveUsUp – info in English. Please share!
Polish CSOs pressure Jean-Claude Juncker to go to the EU Court of Justice over the unconstitutional law on Supreme Court in Poland. Over 100 NGOs signed the appeal.
Following an appeal from the former president Lech Wałęsa to Jean-Claude Juncker, over one hundred NGOs and citizens’ movements from Poland appealed to the president of the European Commission, to refer the law on the Supreme Court to the EU Court of Justice (CJEU).
Soon, the destruction of independent courts in Poland will be completed. On July 3rd this year the unconstitutional law on the Supreme Court will come into force. Approximately 60 percent of judges in the Supreme Court will be exchanged. Those who are over 65 years of age will be unlawfully removed on the basis of retroactive provision. New judges will be selected by The National Council of the Judiciary of Poland, a body currently controlled by the government. Soon there will be no institution in Poland that could stop the destruction of the state, that is being done through the use of unconstitutional laws. The Constitutional Tribunal has already been made subordinate to politicians in power, and so – within a month – will be the Supreme Court.
Today, the only way to stop the destruction of judicial independence is the ruling of the EU Court of Justice. In representing civic organisations in Poland, we are calling upon the European Commission to take immediate steps to prevent the progressing dismantling of the independence of the judiciary in our country – says the appeal addressed to Jean-Claude Juncker. CJEU ruling could be a real way to stop the ongoing process of destroying rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Poland. In the same way, CJEU has already stopped logging in the Białowieża Forest, major primeval forest in Europe.
We appeal to the European Commission to take immediately the law on the Polish Supreme Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union, as provided for in Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and to file a motion for interim measures, until the CJEU settles the matter – said Michał Wawrykiewicz, attorney at law from the “Free Courts” initiative.
The authors wrote that the ruling of the CJEU will have to be respected by all parties to the political dispute in Poland – including the opposition. The document was submitted to the Representation of the European Commission in Poland on June 4, 2018.
June 4 is a symbolic date for the revival of democracy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. On this day in 1989, the first partly free elections in Poland took place, which commenced the process of the demise of authoritarian regimes in our part of Europe – said Agnieszka Holland, film director. – European Union guarantees economic and civil liberties. We hope that the European Commission will help us defend them – she added.
Common actions are needed so that the Supreme Court law is filed with the CJEU – said Paweł Kasprzak from Obywatele RP – We ask our European friends for support. We appeal to citizens to join the protests. We now have a real chance to stop the destruction of democracy in Poland – he added.
The appeal has also been handed over to Manfred Weber, the leader of the Group of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament. Apart from the appeal to the European Commission, the organizations are gathering citizens’ signatures in support of the matter – almost 14 thousand have been gathered in a matter of days.
The appeal and a list of signatories can be found here:
https://europonieodpuszczaj.pl/sign-the-appeal/