EU: Judicial independence in Member States discussed at the European Parliament

Jan 17, 2025 | Advocacy, Events, News

On 15 January 2025, the International Commission on Jurists (ICJ), in cooperation with MEP Michal Wawrykiewicz (the European People’s Party) and MEP Tineke Strik (the group of the Greens/European Free Alliance), hosted the final event of the Rule of Law for Lawyers (ROLL) project at the European Parliament. The event – Slovakia, Hungary and Poland: How can strategic litigation protect Judicial Independence? – brought together EU stakeholders, CSOs, and experts to discuss judicial independence and the findings of the new report Justice Under Pressure: Strategic Litigation of Judicial Independence in Europe

The discussions were focused on specific threats to the rule of law and judicial independence in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, emphasizing the critical role of European institutions in addressing these issues. While highlighting the necessity of cooperation among EU institutions in defending judicial independence and upholding the rule of law, the participants also underscored the need to strengthen alliances with civil society and other relevant stakeholders to ensure long-term safeguards. 

“The infringement procedure and the motion for interim measures in 2018 against Poland marked a significant example of cooperation among European institutions, allowing judges to remain in office and complete their constitutional term until April 2020.” said MEP Michal Wawrykiewicz, EPP, Poland.

The EU’s top-down approach to implementation is not sufficient on its own.” said MEP Tineke Strik, EFA, Hungary. “The EU must take a firm stance to defend the rule of law at a practical level and build strategic alliances to address these shortcomings, including with organizations such as the ICJ and human rights lawyers, to effectively protect judicial independence and uphold the rule of law.”

The event also served as a platform for discussing institutional responses to rule of law challenges at EU level.  

Kazimierz Ujazdowski, from the Permanent Representation of Poland to the EU – Poland currently holding the presidency of the Council of the EU – reaffirmed Council’s commitment to addressing these issues and announced plans for an informal ministerial meeting on the rule of law as well as a forthcoming hearing on Hungary under the ongoing Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union procedure. 

Florian Geyer, Head of the Rule of Law Unit at the European Commission’s DG JUST, provided insights into future measures aimed at strengthening enforcement mechanisms. He announced new proposals to create a closer link between recommendations in the Rule of Law report, their implementation, and financial support. 

 

Background 

This event marked the culmination of the two-year “Rule Of Law for Lawyers (ROLL)” project, led by the International Commission of Jurists – European Institutions (ICJ-EI) in collaboration with Helen Duffy from Human Rights in Practice and national partner organizations, including aditus (Malta), Forum for Human Rights (Czechia and Slovakia), and Free Courts (Poland), with the support of the Romanian Institute for Human Rights. The project aims to promote independent and effective judicial systems to protect fundamental rights by strengthening the knowledge and ability of lawyers and civil society organizations in national and European strategic litigation, focusing on eight EU Member States – Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Malta and Spain.  

Focusing on judicial independence, the rule of law, and strategic litigation within the EU, the hybrid event convened a broad audience, including Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission and the Council of the EU, alongside national representatives, civil society organizations, legal practitioners, and experts.  

 

Download 

Justice Under Pressure: Strategic Litigation of Judicial Independence in Europe Report 

Agenda of the event

Poster of the event

 

Podcast episode  

Listen to the interview with Helen Duffy providing an overview of the report. Episode 10 of the Judicial Independence Podcast is available on YouTube or Spotify.   

 

Contact 

Karolína Babická, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, karolina.babicka@icj.org   

Laura Duchamp, ICJ Legal Researcher, laura.duchamp@icj.org 

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