The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on the authorities of Poland and Moldova to take several steps to support the rule of law and ensure the independence of the judiciary.
A resolution to this effect was adopted at a winter session, held these days in Strasbourg.
The Assembly condemned “a campaign of intimidation by political authorities against some critical judges and against the justice system as a whole” in Poland, declaring such behavior “unworthy of democracy and the rule of law.
PACE has called on the Polish authorities to review the changes made in the operation of the Constitutional Tribunal and the justice system against the background of the Council of Europe standards; to return to the previous system of electing judges to the National Council of the Judiciary; and to review the composition, internal structure and powers of the Disciplinary Chamber and the Extraordinary Control Chamber of the Supreme Court.
As for Moldova, the Assembly stated that it was concerned about the “proximity of parts of the judiciary to political power.
The parliamentarians said that several attempts to reform the judicial system “have failed,” noting that corruption remains widespread.
They called for a continuation of the reform of the Moldovan judiciary, the Superior Council of Magistracy, and the Prosecutor’s Office in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Europe.
