Poland violated the European Convention on Human Rights – the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg decided today, ruling in the case of two judges dismissed from the post of vice-president of the court by fax by Zbigniew Ziobro, polish Minister of Justice, without giving any reason.
The Court adjudicated in the case of judges Alina Bojara and Mariusz Broda, who were elected vice-presidents of the District Court in Kielce for a 6-year term in 2014. In January 2018, the Minister of Justice, without giving any reason, dismissed them from their post, as he did with almost 150 other presidents and vice-presidents of common courts in Poland. All of those judges did not have any remedy allowing them to
challenge the decisions of the Minister of Justice.
As the premature termination of the applicants’ term of office as vice-presidents of a court had not been examined either by an ordinary court or by another body exercising judicial duties, the respondent State had infringed the very essence of the applicants’ right of access to a court. There had thus been a violation of the right of access to a court guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
The Court also held that Poland was to pay each applicant 20,000 euro (EUR) in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage.
Judges Bojara and Broda were represented by advocates Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram and Maria Ejchart-Dubois from the Free Courts Initiative acting as a part of the Justice Defence Committee.
ECHR press release in case of Broda and Bojara v. Poland (applications no. 26691/18 and 27367/18)