Poles and Hungarians assess their courts as the worst in the entire EU. The EU commissioner talks about a worrying trend

As much as 66 percent of Poles assess the independence of Polish courts as bad or very bad. Only Hungarians have less confidence in the judiciary in the EU, where 72% of respondents doubt the independence of the judiciary. citizens. According to more than half (54.9%) of Poles, the national justice system is too much influenced by the government and politicians. Additionally, 46 percent of respondents believe that the courts are also under pressure from other interest groups, including business, and that the judge’s position alone does not guarantee his or her independence.

The courts are most trusted in Finland, where 76% of residents assess their independence as good and very good, and only 10 percent. bad and very bad. Germans also trust their courts: only one in 10 Germans believe that court decisions can be influenced by political pressure or lobbying.

Overall, the European Commission assesses, confidence in the independence of the judiciary has increased in 12 Member States compared to last year. Unfortunately, in a few countries, including Poland – the Commission emphasizes – it has remained at a very low level for several years. – Gaining citizens’ trust in their legal systems remains a challenge for the EU. This is a worrying trend, said EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders when presenting the report.

Prescription? Implement reforms

Poland was ranked last in the EU when it comes to investors’ trust in the courts. As the EC explains, trust in the independence of the judiciary means that companies feel that they can fully exercise their rights and operate in a business and investment-friendly environment. “Where judicial systems guarantee the enforcement of rights, creditors are more likely to lend, businesses are discouraged from opportunistic behaviour, transaction costs are reduced and innovative businesses are more likely to invest,” an EU diplomat tells DW.

Meanwhile, 62 percent of entrepreneurs operating in Poland have doubts about the independence of the courts, and 6 out of 10 assess the effectiveness of investment protection by law as poor. Interestingly, as much as 22 percent companies “do not know what to think”, which may be related to the changes recently introduced in the Polish judiciary. Just like citizens, companies also believe that Polish courts are influenced by politicians (53%) or other businesses (42%).

According to Commissioner Reynders, the situation will improve when countries where citizens’ confidence in the judiciary is low implement the reforms of the judiciary recommended by the EC or reach milestones, the fulfillment of which is necessary to unlock money from the recovery fund. – If the reforms are implemented well, the perception of the courts in society will improve – explains the politician.

Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict between Poland and the EU over the rule of law has just taken on a new dimension. At the beginning of the week, the Court of Justice of the EU recognized the 2020 reform of the Polish justice system, i.e. the so-called muzzle law, as contrary to EU law.

Polish courts are doing better and better

Paradoxically, the Polish judiciary is doing better in terms of efficiency. Poland is in third place in the EU in terms of the number of civil, economic and administrative cases examined every year, the estimated waiting time for a judgment is 107 days, which places Poland in the middle of the EU pool. When it comes to criminal cases, this year’s report for the first time looked at proceedings related to corruption and bribery. Here, Poland is in the group of 12 countries where proceedings of this type last less than a year (on average 200 days). – There are countries where corruption cases drag on for up to four years – say the authors of the report.

Poland also performs well when it comes to the digitization of justice institutions, including the availability of information, the possibility of dealing with some cases remotely and the admissibility of evidence in digital format; however, the report reveals that Polish courts use digital facilities more often than the prosecutor’s office.

For comparison, Germany has introduced slightly less digital facilities than Poland, but here the courts are as digitized as the prosecutor’s office.

The review also takes into account, for the first time, solutions adopted by Member States to facilitate access to justice, including victims of domestic violence and violence against women. The data collected by the EC show that both Poland and Germany provide victims with online access to important information, special protection of victims and witnesses, and allow support during court proceedings from non-governmental organizations or equality bodies.

Time to assess the rule of law

Published on Thursday (08/06/2023) by the European Commission, the so-called For the eleventh time, the EU Justice Scoreboard 2023 compares data on the effectiveness, quality and independence of justice systems in all European Union Member States.

– National judicial systems are important because they are essential for the application and enforcement of EU law and for upholding the rule of law and the values ​​on which the Union is founded. Let’s not forget that national courts act as EU courts, commented EU Values ​​Commissioner Vera Jourowa.

Information collected thanks to the report will also be used for the report on the state of the rule of law in the EU, prepared by the European Commission, which will be published at the beginning of July.

– Today’s report compares national justice systems, while the rule of law report provides a qualitative assessment of rule of law developments in EU countries. The two complement each other,” said one official interviewed by DW.

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