Double standards in the CJEU – Malta and Poland

An example of the use of double standards in proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union is the Opinion of the Advocate General in case C-896/19 Repubblika / Il-Prim Ministru.

In the case mentioned, the Advocate General of the CJEU stated that art. 19 paragraph 1 TEU, interpreted in the light of art. 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union does not preclude national constitutional provisions under which the executive power or one of its organs, such as the Prime Minister, plays a role in the appointment of judges. This is the case in Malta, where the Prime Minister of that country plays an important role in the judges’ nomination process.

The Advocate General also came to the conclusion that according to the judgments of A.K. and others (Independence of the Supreme Court) neither EU law nor the European Convention on Human Rights impose any strict and a priori forms of institutional guarantees aimed at ensuring judicial independence.

It is extremely interesting that the above standards are not applied to Poland. In Poland, despite the fact that the participation of the executive power is not as large as in Malta, accusations are made of the politicization of the judging process.