Backsliding of the Rule of Law in Poland – a Systemic Problem With the Independence of Courts

The article concentrates on backsliding of the rule-of-law in Poland which is being observed already since 2015. This is a process which is neither a sudden nor a recent development and has been confirmed also by a series of judgements issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) which address the question of judicial independence in Poland. The protective roles of other key justice system institutions, such as the Constitutional Court and the prosecutorial system, have been seriously compromised over time by the infiltration of government zealots promoting executive usurpation of justice system authority. The key elements of this process are presented to show the mechanism that has been used to dismantle the fundaments of the democratic rule-of-law state.