Poland’s justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro has unveiled the main pillars of “fundamental” reform of the judiciary, which he said would bolster its independence and bring courts “closer to the people”.
The reform aims to reorganise the judicial hierarchy, redistribute administrative functions to a smaller group of judges and allow for remote access to court functions. The opposition, however, says that the changes could serve to “purge” and “destroy” the system.
“An efficiently working judiciary is the backbone of a well-functioning democratic state,” said Ziobro, who has been a driving force behind the overhaul of Poland’s judiciary in past years that has pitted Warsaw against Brussels in a deepening rule-of-law dispute.
Since coming to power in 2015, Poland’s ruling coalition, which includes Ziobro’s eurosceptic United Poland (Solidarna Polska) party, has argued that Poland’s judicial system needs to be made fairer and faster. There is no evidence, however, that the contentious overhaul has resulted in the courts working more efficiently.
Presenting his new reform on Monday, Ziobro said the outlined changes were “expected by society, but also by a significant part of the judicial community”.
He pledged that his reform would cut down bureaucracy. “One in three judges in Poland today is president, head of a department or performing other bureaucratic functions,” he said.
Ziobro argued that the restructuring would allow 2,100 judges to focus on handing down judgements, rather than their current administrative functions, which would be redistributed between 1,100 judges.
The reform also seeks to create 79 district courts and 20 regional courts in place of the current “extensive, bureaucratic” system of 318 regional courts, 40 district courts, and 11 appeal courts. “None of the courts will be abolished, but their structure will change,” said Ziobro.
The ministry also announced that it will seek to flatten the current hierarchy of judges. “There will be no oligarchy,” said Ziobro.
The new system would include a single head and deputy in each court, while all others will become “common court judges with the same status” – regardless of the court in which they adjudicate. Salaries will also be adjusted to eliminate “glaring disproportions” and will depend on the number of years served.
The minister also promised that the reform would “consolidate judicial independence” by “appointing them once for the entire service”.
The justice ministry also plans to set up “court points” in each municipality, which could serve to inform people about matters such as the status of the case and planned court sessions. The points, which will have internet access, will enable people to participate in remote hearings.
“Many citizens are more than a hundred kilometres from the nearest court,” said the minister. “We will introduce changes so that…citizens will have access to the court even on their own phone,” he said, pledging that many legal actions will be made possible on smartphones.
The new role of the Supreme Court, which has on a number of occasions ruled that new bodies set up by the government have been illegal, remains to be decided, said Ziobro. “Part of the community of judges have declared war in Poland,” he added.
The plans have been criticised by the opposition as a backdoor attempt at further purging the judiciary of judges who oppose the government’s hardline reforms.
Katarzyna Lubnauer, an MP from the Civic Coalition (KO), said “releasing” more than 2,000 judges from administrative functions appeared to be a “great purge of rebellious judges,” reports Gazeta.pl.
Another KO MP, Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, who is also the deputy chairman of the parliamentary justice and human rights committee, called the project an attempt to “destroy the justice system 2.0” which, if implemented, could “mean Polexit”.
The proposed legal changes come amid a bitter feud between the Polish government and the European Union, which has accused Poland of flouting democratic standards by undermining the independence of its judiciary.
Tensions escalated again in October when the top European court imposed a daily fine of €1 million on Poland until it complies with a ruling to suspend its disciplinary chamber for judges, as ordered by the same court earlier this year.
While Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has admitted that Poland’s judicial reforms had not “lived up to expectations”, Ziobro remains defiant. He has accused Brussels of mounting a “hybrid war” against Poland and of “acting in bad faith”.
Main image credit: Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości/press materials
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
