Puolalaistuomarin toimikauden ennenaikainen päättäminen loukkasi EIS 6 artiklaa

Premature ending of mandate for a member of the Polish National Council of the Judiciary: violation of the Convention

In today’s Grand Chamber judgment in the case of Grzęda v. Poland (application no. 43572/18) the European Court of Human Rights held, by 16 votes to 1, that there had been:

• a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr Grzęda is a judge. The case concerned his removal from the National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ) before his term had ended and his inability to get judicial review of that decision. His removal had taken place in the context of judicial reforms in Poland.

The Court found in particular that the lack of judicial review had breached Mr Grzęda’s right access to a court. It held that the successive judicial reforms, including that of the NCJ that had affected Mr Grzęda, had been aimed at weakening judicial independence. That aim had been achieved by the judiciary’s being exposed to interference by the executive and legislature.

This was the first time that the Grand Chamber of the Court had examined these issues.

There are approximately 93 pending applications before the Court concerning the reorganisation of
the courts in Poland

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