Polish President Andrzej Duda has condemned judges who voice their political views. He said the current system had to be changed, adding that a judiciary that respects the constitution and serves as an integral part of the state is in the interest of Poland.

„We need changes that will facilitate the recovery of the judicial branch”, Polish President Andrzej Duda said.

He called it unacceptable for judges to voice their political views, saying it has largely contributed to people s negative perception of Poland s courts. „Judges must be politically neutral,” Mr Duda said, adding that unfortunately „this is not what we see today.” He underlined that his criticism is not generally levelled at judges as a group, but merely at judges who tend to express their political views.

„We need a good and just disciplinary mechanism initiated by judges against judges; one that s stable enough to empower us to take steps against judges who break the law and violate the rules of ethics,” the Polish president said. He said the judicial community does not need any „black sheep” to damage or ruin its reputation with people.

The independence of the judiciary is an unusual topic in Europe, which plays a somewhat more prominent role in the Eastern European states. In many countries the roles tend to intertlace with no clear boundaries between legislative and judicial remits.

In Spain, for instance, electing the members of the Judicial Council has for long required a three-fifth majority, forcing the lower house of the parliament to compromise. The government has since abolished this rule enabling parliament to appoint judges with a simple 50 percent majority.

In Germany, the appointment of judges is also a question of political will, built into the country s legal system as some type of tradition. In Ireland, whose legal system relies on previous case law (also known as judicial precedent), judges can effectively legislate, while other countries – such as the Netherlands – have no constitutional courts.

Mr Duda said democratic countries need to be governed by rule of law, but in Poland, this requires changes that will make it possible. Therefore, he wholeheartedly supports all systematic changes and solutions that help the Republic of Poland to flourish.