Poland After the Parliamentary Elections: How Can the Rule of Law Be Restored?

The Forum Recht Foundation is hosting a panel discussion in Leipzig on Thursday, March 7, 2024, and will bring together experts to examine how the independence of the judiciary can be restored following the change in government in Poland.

Leipzig. Just under three months after the new progressive governing coalition took office in Poland, Polish politics and society continue to face the challenge posed by the previous PiS government’s significant erosion of the rule of law in the country. On March 7, 2024, at its offices in downtown Leipzig, the Forum Recht Foundation will host a discussion with guests from the judiciary, the media, and academia on how these changes can be reversed through means consistent with the rule of law.

After taking stock of how the situation for the judiciary in Poland has specifically changed following the parliamentary elections in October 2023, the discussion will focus on which instruments and measures under the rule of law are necessary to restore the independence of the judiciary. The moderated discussion will draw on legal and social science perspectives, contextualize current developments, and also examine the international context: What experiences from other countries could serve as a guide for the necessary steps in Poland?

Against the backdrop of discussions about protecting the German Federal Constitutional Court from the influence of extremist parties, the question also arises as to what risks to the rule of law in Germany might exist in comparison with Poland.

Panelists: 

• Thomas Guddat (Judge at the Dresden Labor Court and Chair of the German-Polish Judges' Association)
• Viktoria Großmann (Süddeutsche Zeitung correspondent in Warsaw)
• Bastian Sendhardt (Political scientist, German Institute for Polish Studies)
• Moderation: Susann Böttcher (MDR)
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• Welcome Message: Mathias Weilandt (State Secretary in the Saxon State Ministry of Justice and for Democracy, Europe, and Equality)

The event is being held in cooperation with the associations Neue Richtervereinigung e.V. and Deutsch-Polnische Richtervereinigung e.V. and will be livestreamed: https://stiftung-forum-recht.de/themen/ausstellung-sprawiedliwosc

Admission is free.

Background: The PiS and judicial reform in Poland

The national-conservative government of the PiS party („Prawo i Sprawiedliwość" / „Law and Justice“) fundamentally restructured the Polish judicial system between 2015 and 2023. Among other things, in 2016 it merged the office of Minister of Justice with that of Prosecutor General, thereby turning the public prosecutor’s offices into an extension of the government. Prosecutors who did not carry out their duties in line with the ruling party’s agenda now faced the prospect of being forcibly transferred or even removed from office. In 2018, the government also established a disciplinary chamber to remove unwelcome judges from the courts. In doing so, the PiS effectively abolished the independence of the judiciary in Poland.

Panel Discussion as Part of the Photo Exhibition's Accompanying Program

The event is part of the accompanying program for the photo exhibition SPRAWIEDLIWOŚĆ – GERECHTIGKEIT, which will be on view through April 7, 2024, at the Forum Recht Foundation in Karlsruhe and, with a small selection, also at the foundation’s Leipzig location. In this photo project, Polish photographer Piotr Wójcik documents the resistance of judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys against the erosion of the rule of law in Poland. Through portraits, he introduces people who, because of their perseverance, faced reprisals from Poland’s recently ousted national-conservative government. In the year marking the anniversary of the Basic Law, the exhibition demonstrates that the rule of law cannot be taken for granted, either at home or abroad.

After stops in Warsaw and The Hague, the international photo exhibition is now on view in Germany for the first time. The exhibition SPRAWIEDLIWOŚĆ – GERECHTIGKEIT is a collaboration between the Forum Recht Foundation and Fundacja Picture Doc Warsaw.