Kazek Michał, On the exercise of international control over the Polish judiciary

Reforms of the judiciary, whose independence is one of the key elements guaranteeing the respect of the rule of law in democratic states, carried out in Poland since 2015, have drawn attention and concern of the European and international bodies monitoring the rule of law, including the Venice Commission, the European Commission, European Parliament and European Network of the Councils for Judiciary . This article places these developments in their historical context with a view to shedding light on the asymmetrical reactions of the international community before and after the arrival into power of the current political forces. It will be argued both that the international community failed to see deep weaknesses in the system as it existed before the current reforms; and, that the international community may now be reacting too swiftly against the new system....