OSCE/ODIHR Preliminary Opinion on Draft Amendments to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary and Certain Other Acts of Poland

Overall, the proposed amendments raise serious concerns with regard to key democratic principles, in particular the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. By transferring the power to appoint judge members to the National Council of the Judiciary from the judiciary to the legislature, and by introducing new procedures for selecting judges which will be under the decisive influence of the legislative and executive, the draft amendments would seriously jeopardize the independence of a body which is the guarantor of judicial independence in Poland.

Full text of the opinion below.