PiS’s actions provoked an unprecedented conflict with European institutions. In December 2021, the European Commission announced that it was starting another procedure against Poland infringement for undermining the EU laws, and the independence of its judiciary. In May 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the other EU institutions to show ‘genuine commitment’ and make ‘meaningful progress’ to address the deterioration of the EU values in Poland. Last year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) fined Poland one million Euro a day to prevent what it called ‘serious and irreparable harm’ to the EU’s legal order and values. The daily fines for not complying with an order to suspend a disciplinary mechanism for judges have now piled up to more than EUR 160 million. Due to the lack of adherence to the rule of law standards by Poland, the Polish National Recovery and Resilience Plan has not been approved yet which means that Poland cannot use the EU’s 35,97 billion to boost its economy after the Covid crisis.

PiS would have not gone that far in destroying the judicial independence, if it wasn’t for the following two factors. First, the general distrust in the legal professionals and frustration with how courts have worked. PiS used this knowledge to mobilize their voters against judges. Second, the unprecedented removal of independent judges was possible only because there was a group of success-hungry mediocre and below mediocre lawyers, who advanced in professional and political hierarchy in exchange for total subordination to the ruling party. Independent judges, prosecutors, dedicated lawyers, etc., first became victims of the oppressive regime created by Jarosław Kaczyński and his colleagues. However, lawyers did not give up. They proved that no matter how difficult circumstances are, they uphold fundamental values of legal professions, and fundamental liberal and European values. Just like other independent judges, who were fired by PiS-appointees, judges Monika Frąckowiak, Paweł Juszczyszyn, and Igor Tuleya proved their heroic attitude. Judge Tuleya dared to criticize in his courtroom PiS authorities for violating the Constitution when they, among others, excluded opposition parties from sessions of the parliament. After this verdict, judge Tuleya found himself targeted by the national prosecutor’s office. On charges of irregularities that allegedly occurred during the adjudication of one of his judgments, the political Disciplinary Chamber stripped him of immunity and deprived of his work. Recently, he has been reinstated by the Warsaw district court. Paweł Juszczyszyn and some other judges look for justice in Strasbourg. 

Prosecutors likewise fight for their independence, which is extremely difficult due to the centralization of the system headed by Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. All signs of alleged insubordination have been punished with hauled into disciplinary proceedings. Already by the end of 2016, some 500 prosecutors were ousted or demoted from prosecutors’ offices all over the country. In January 2021, seven prosecutors were punished with transfers far away from their previous posting and place of residence. One of them, Ewa Wrzosek, was even illegally spied by the government with the Pegasus system that can record conversations, register location, or secretly activate cameras (Among other victims of Pegasus in Poland was also Roman Giretych, attorney of many opposition politicians). Many lawyers understood that in times of constant attacks and accusations, their activities cannot be limited to good work in courtrooms. Many of them got engaged in the “Tour of the Constitution” project, a roadshow where judges and other lawyers visit locations all over the country, including small towns in the East where PiS wins overwhelmingmajority, to explain why we all should care about the rule of law.

No doubts that lawyers in Poland have been put in the middle of a political battle over human rights and the rule of law. Involuntarily, they were pulled out from dark archives and courtroom, and became public persons and symbols of resistance against the illiberal regime. They are modern European human rights defenders. They give inspiration and provide practical help for other groups attacked by the ruling party in Poland. They are the ones who prevented PiS from taking away basic rights of Polish people who try to change Poland into autocracy, a dream for Kaczyński; they keep Poland in Europe.