Recent Attacks on Judicial Independence: The Vulgar, the Systemic, and the Insidious

Abstract

This article offers an opening to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) situation and attacks against the judiciary in this region since 2010. The focus is not primarily on historical path dependence like the rest of this issue. Instead, the focus aims at the nature of attacks on the judiciary. Such attacks have appeared in CEE and the US in recent years. Its interest lies in explaining similar patterns visible in the judiciaries of CEE. Particularly, it looks at the current conditions in the Czech judiciary, political interventions in Poland since 2015 and in Hungary since 2010, and undermining of trust towards judiciary in the U.S., where attempts for delegitimizing the judiciary have happened since 2016. The article draws on similarities of attacks of authoritarian governments and responses of judiciaries. The authors highlight similarities and diversities of CEE countries 30 years after the fall of the communist regime and a path of these resemblances and varieties.

Explaining judges’ opposition when judicial independence is undermined: insights from Poland, Romania, and Hungary

“…Since then, 23 out of 25 members are selected by the political power. 64 In addition, the Act on the KRS issued on 8 December 2017 instituted the Disciplinary Chamber and the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber. 65 The Notes: Romania N = 67; Poland N = 175.…”

Legal Dualism as a Framework for Analyzing the Role of Law under Authoritarianism

“…is only a distant memory, Ukrainian judges are no more likely to rock the boat than were their Soviet predecessors (Moliterno et al 2018). If a litigant is perceived as being under the protection of a powerful player, a so-called untouchable, the judges will decide the case in their favor without regard to the law.…”