29 March 2021
Intimidation through Litigation
Last week, legal proceedings were initiated against a Polish writer as well as a couple of high school students for allegedly insulting Polish President Andrzej Duda. These proceedings are just the latest examples of how Polish authorities or their allies attempt to intimidate and silence critics by means of litigation. Continue reading >>
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01 October 2020
Today Tuleya, Tomorrow the EU
Igor Tuleya is someone you should know. He is your judge, wherever you live in the EU. More specifically, he is a judge at the District Court in Warsaw. Next Monday, on October 5th 2020, he may lose his judicial immunity as a result of a hearing before the “Disciplinary Chamber” of the Polish Supreme Court. If this happens, he will likely face subsequent criminal charges, and, as a consequence, a very real risk of imprisonment. If this happens, it will affect every independent and impartial judge in Poland. If this happens, it will affect every EU citizen too. Continue reading >>
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12 October 2019
Is One Offended Pole Enough to Take Critics of Official Historical Narratives to Court?
In a recent interview with Verfassungsblog, Wojciech Sadurski lists his fears accompanying the high probability of the Law and Justice forthcoming electoral victory. He mentions fundamental rules and values, such as the constitutional order, an independent judiciary, fair elections and free press. However, what can also be at stake and what just seemingly may be considered of lesser importance, is the possible conclusion of the process of reshaping the historical narratives and introduction of a state-imposed vision of historical truth. Continue reading >>
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01 February 2018
Calling Murders by Their Names as Criminal Offence – a Risk of Statutory Negationism in Poland
On the eve of the Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27th of January, the Polish Sejm approved a law on the defamation of the Polish State and Nation, causing extremely harsh reactions from Israel, Holocaust survivors and international organizations. While the attempt to ban the use of the word "Polish concentration camp" seems fully justified, the scope of the law goes way beyond that and is a threat to the freedom of speech and academic research. Continue reading >>
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04 January 2018
Law and Memory
Recently, Uladzislau Belavusau with his post about a de-communization law in Poland launched a joint ASSER-Verfassungsblog symposium on what he has coined "mnemonic constitutionalism". Drawing on his idea of mnemonic constitutionalism, I would like to join this discussion by mapping the general landscape of how memory laws have recently been manufacturing the socio-constitutional climate in various states. Continue reading >>
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