Exactly three years ago; On June 4, 2018 – on the anniversary of the first partially free elections in Poland – together with other organizations, we established the Justice Defense Committee (Komitet Obrony Sprawiedliwości KOS), whose main goal is to provide legal protection to repressed legal professionals.
Carrying out this resolution consistently for 3 years:
- we are involved in over 100 proceedings initiated against judges and prosecutors all over Poland,
- we took the floor in public several dozen times, publishing positions and opinions pointing to unacceptable actions directed against the independence of the judiciary and judicial independence,
- our representatives appear before national courts, the Court of Justice of the European Union (in 10 proceedings) and the European Court of Human Rights (in 6 proceedings),
- we organized 24 press conferences to speak out about the illegal activities of the Disciplinary Chamber and the repressive actions taken by the Disciplinary Commissioners,
- we constantly cooperate with representatives of the European Commission, the legislative authority (the Senate of the Republic of Poland, parliamentary and senate committees) as well as members of the European Parliament and inform them about the current situation of judges and prosecutors, we present them legal opinions on draft legal acts and activities of the political authority related to justice and threatening the rule of law.
We managed to achieve all of this through the cooperation of 13 organizations associating judges, prosecutors, lawyers, non-government organizations and initiatives involved in defense of the rule of law in Poland, coordinated by Maria Ejchart-Dubois. The partners of the KOS Justice Defense Committee are:
- Stowarzyszenie im. Prof. Zbigniewa Hołdy
- Stowarzyszenie Sędziów Polskich “IUSTITIA”
- Stowarzyszenie Sędziów „THEMIS”
- Stowarzyszenie Prokuratorów “Lex Super Omnia”
- Inicjatywa Obywatelska Wolne Sądy
- Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka
- Instytut Prawa i Społeczeństwa INPRIS
- Archiwum Osiatyńskiego
- Stowarzyszenie Amnesty International Polska
- Fundacja FOR (Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju)
- Ogólnopolskie Stowarzyszenie Sędziów Sądów Administracyjnych
- Forum Współpracy Sędziów
- Stowarzyszenie Adwokackie “Defensor Iuris”
Website: https://komitetobronysprawiedliwosci.pl/