Publication details
Sometimes Even Easy Rule of Law Cases Make Bad Law ECtHR (GC) 15 March 2022, No. 43572/18, Grzęda v Poland
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | European Constitutional Law Review |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | Open access časopisu |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1574019622000335 |
| Keywords | Sometimes Even Easy Rule of Law Cases Make Bad Law ECtHR (GC) 15 March 2022; No. 43572/18; Grzęda v Poland |
| Attached files | |
| Description | It is a well-known maxim in the legal world that hard cases make bad law. Yet, this familiar phrase has long been turned upside down as well, as cases that are – by and large – not too difficult may also lead to judgments that are unconvincingly argued or poorly structured. It is especially disheartening to find such judgments in areas where the stakes are high, and even more so when the judgment has been issued through a more authoritative composition, such as a grand chamber. The Grzęda judgment unfortunately checks all of those boxes. Grzęda v Poland Footnote1 was the first Grand Chamber judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on the rule of law crisis in Poland, a topic that has been occupying Europe, together with its two main supranational courts,Footnote 2 for several years now. The case concerned, in essence, the right of access to a court for Mr Grzęda to challenge the ex lege termination of his mandate as a judicial member of the National Council of the Judiciary (Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa). The Grand Chamber, by 16 votes to 1, found a violation of Article 6(1) ECHR. While the outcome of the judgment can certainly be agreed with, the Court’s reasoning fails to convince on several key points. When one reads the judgment, the feeling that remains is that the Court seemed to have wanted to make this case about more than it was, thereby diluting the clarity of its own legal reasoning. |
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