Lunch seminar with Aleksandra Kustra-Rogatka

Judicial reform in Poland before European courts: What makes a court a counter-majoritarian institution?

The current crisis regarding the rule of law in Poland highlights the essential role of European courts and multi-layered constitutionalism in determining the minimum standards that national courts must uphold to function effectively as counter-majoritarian institutions. The rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concerning Poland's controversial judicial reforms emphasize the significance of effective judicial protection as a fundamental component of a multi-level system of fundamental rights.

This project aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the decisions made by the CJEU and the ECtHR concerning the rule of law crisis in Poland. It will explore whether and how these courts have influenced the perception of national courts as counter-majoritarian institutions. Specifically, the project seeks to address the extent to which the European courts have adopted different approaches to addressing violations of the right to a fair trial in Poland and how their case law should be applied to restore the rule of law in the country.

Speaker bio

Aleksandra Kustra-Rogatka is an associate professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, interested in EU constitutionalism, judicial review, and the nexus between law and democracy. Her research explores the dynamics of constitutional courts’ position toward European integration, constitutional identity, rule of law, and transitional justice. She was a visiting researcher at the University of Göttingen, the Free University of Berlin, LUISS University in Rome, and Humboldt University of Berlin. She also served as a judge's legal assistant at the Office of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland (2008–2017).

Currently, she is a team member of the EU-funded Horizon project RED-SPINEL (Respond to Emerging Dissensus: SuPranational Instruments and Norms of European Liberal democracy).

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