On December 18, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal breached fundamental principles of EU law and cannot be considered independent or impartial. The court cited serious irregularities …
Poland
Poland’s Supreme Court Rejects EU Authority Over Justice System
Poland’s rule-of-law crisis escalated after a group of Supreme Court judges—appointed during the former Law and Justice (PiS) government’s controversial judicial overhaul—issued a resolution rejecting the European Union’s right to regulate Poland’s justice system. They …
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal Blocks Judicial Reform Bill
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (TK) has struck down a government bill aimed at overhauling the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), a central institution in Poland’s years-long rule-of-law crisis. The decision—expected due to the TK’s continued …
Puleo, Coman (2023), “Explaining Judges’ Opposition When Judicial Independence Is Undermined: Insights from Poland, Romania, and Hungary.”
Leonardo Puleo, Ramona Coman, “Explaining Judges’ Opposition When Judicial Independence Is Undermined: Insights from Poland, Romania, and Hungary.” Democratization, vol. 31, no. 1 (2023): 47–69. Summary: Over the past decade, governing parties in Central and …
Kisilowski (2015), “The Middlemen: The Legal Profession, the Rule of Law, and Authoritarian Regimes.”
Maciej Kisilowski, “The Middlemen: The Legal Profession, the Rule of Law, and Authoritarian Regimes.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 40, no. 3 (2015): 700–722. Summary: Scholars are increasingly interested in exploring ways to strengthen the …
Driesen (2021), “The Specter of Dictatorship: Judicial Enabling of Presidential Power.”
David M. Driesen, The Specter of Dictatorship: Judicial Enabling of Presidential Power. Redwood City: Stanford University Press, 2021. Summary: In The Specter of Dictatorship, David Driesen analyzes the chief executive’s role in the democratic decline of …
KuKubal (2024), “Judicial Relational Legal Consciousness: Authoritarian Backsliding As A Catalyst Of Change.”
Agnieszka Kubal, “Judicial Relational Legal Consciousness: Authoritarian Backsliding As A Catalyst Of Change.” Journal of Law and Society, vol. 51, (2024): 45-65. Summary: In the context of Poland’s authoritarian backsliding between 2015 and 2023, this …
Gandur, Chewning, Driscoll (2025), “Awareness of Executive Interference and the Demand for Judicial Independence: Evidence from Four Constitutional Courts.”
Martín Gandur, Taylor Kinsley Chewning, and Amanda Driscoll, “Awareness of Executive Interference and the Demand for Judicial Independence: Evidence from Four Constitutional Courts.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 13, no. 1 (2025): 122–47. Summary: …
Gyöngyi (2024), “The Role of Judicial Associations in Resisting Rule of Law Backsliding: Hidden Pathways of Protecting Judicial Independence Amidst Rule of Law Decay”
Petra Gyöngyi, “The Role of Judicial Associations in Resisting Rule of Law Backsliding: Hidden Pathways of Protecting Judicial Independence Amidst Rule of Law Decay.” International Journal of the Law in Context (UK), vol. 20, no. …
Gadowska (2020), “Poland: Opening the Legal Profession”
This chapter explores how reforms in the recruitment of self-governing lawyer councils between 1989 and 2017 expanded access to the legal profession and improved the availability of legal services through a 15-year process of social and legal change.