Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 19 November 2019

A. K. and Others v Sąd Najwyższy, CP v Sąd Najwyższy and DO v Sąd Najwyższy

Requests for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Najwyższy

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 2000/78/EC — Equal treatment in employment and occupation — Non-discrimination on the ground of age — Lowering of the retirement age of judges of the Sąd Najwyższy (Supreme Court, Poland) — Article 9(1) — Right to a remedy — Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Effective judicial protection — Principle of judicial independence — Creation of a new chamber of the Sąd Najwyższy (Supreme Court) with jurisdiction inter alia for cases of retiring the judges of that court — Chamber formed by judges newly appointed by the President of the Republic of Poland on a proposal of the National Council of the Judiciary — Independence of that council — Power to disapply national legislation not in conformity with EU law — Primacy of EU law

Joined Cases C-585/18, C-624/18 and C-625/18


Top of the page Documents in the Case
Document Date Name of the parties Subject-matter Curia EUR-Lex Autres Liens
National decision following the preliminary ruling
15/01/2020 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
External Link
National decision following the preliminary ruling
25/03/2019 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
External Link
National decision following the preliminary ruling
15/01/2020 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
External Link
National decision following the preliminary ruling
15/01/2020 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
External Link
National decision following the preliminary ruling
25/03/2019 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
External Link
National decision following the preliminary ruling
15/01/2020 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
External Link
Judgment (OJ)
10/01/2020 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
Fundamental rights
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Subsequent national decision
05/12/2019 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
Fundamental rights
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy
Available in :
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Judgment
ECLI:EU:C:2019:982		 19/11/2019 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
Fundamental rights
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Abstract
ECLI:EU:C:2019:982		 19/11/2019 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
Fundamental rights
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Application (OJ)
18/01/2019 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
Fundamental rights
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Order
ECLI:EU:C:2018:977		 26/11/2018 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
Fundamental rights
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy
Available in :
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Opinion
ECLI:EU:C:2019:551		 27/06/2019 A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)
Fundamental rights
- Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Top of the page Legal analysis of the decision or of the case

Reports of Cases

published in the electronic Reports of Cases (Court Reports - general)

Subject-matter

Information not available

Systematic classification scheme

1.
-
3 Legal proceedings
  3.04 Reference for a preliminary ruling
    3.04.02 Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice
-
1 The legal order of the European Union
  1.04 Fundamental rights
    1.04.02 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
      1.04.02.01 Field of application of the Charter (Article 51(1) and (2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights)
-
3 Legal proceedings
  3.04 Reference for a preliminary ruling
    3.04.02 Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice
-
3 Legal proceedings
  3.04 Reference for a preliminary ruling
    3.04.01 Reference to the Court of Justice
      3.04.01.03 Exclusive nature of the role of the national court in making the reference
-
1 The legal order of the European Union
  1.04 Fundamental rights
    1.04.03 The fundamental rights
      1.04.03.47 Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial
-
1 The legal order of the European Union
  1.03 Respective powers and obligations of the European Union and of the Member States
    1.03.03 Obligation of good faith
-
1 The legal order of the European Union
  1.04 Fundamental rights
    1.04.03 The fundamental rights
      1.04.03.47 Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial
-
1 The legal order of the European Union
  1.03 Respective powers and obligations of the European Union and of the Member States
    1.03.03 Obligation of good faith
-
1 The legal order of the European Union
  1.04 Fundamental rights
    1.04.03 The fundamental rights
      1.04.03.47 Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial
-
1 The legal order of the European Union
  1.05 EU law and national law
    1.05.01 Direct effect, primacy and uniform application of EU law


Citations of case-law or legislation

References in grounds of judgment

Operative part

Opinion


Dates

Date of the lodging of the application initiating proceedings

  • 20/09/2018

Date of the Opinion

  • 27/06/2019

Date of the hearing

Information not available

Date of delivery

19/11/2019


References

Publication in the Official Journal

Judgment: OJ C 27 from 27.01.2020, p.6

Application: OJ C 44 from 04.02.2019, p.9

Name of the parties

A.K. (Independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court)

Notes on Academic Writings

  1. Simon, Denys: Droits fondamentaux - Indépendance des juges nationaux, Europe 2020 Janvier Comm. nº 1 p.2 (FR)
  2. Karpenstein, Ulrich ; Sangi, Roya: Polexit vom Rechtsstaat?, Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht 2020 p.140-143 (DE)
  3. Leloup, Mathieu: Het arrest A.K., CP en DO en de eerste uitspraak van het Hof over een nationale raad voor de rechtspraak: een weinig overtuigende eerste indruk : gevoegde zaken C-585/18, C-624/18 en C-625/18, A.K., CP en DO, S.E.W. : Tijdschrift voor Europees en economisch recht 2020 p.153-157 (NL)
  4. Krajewski, Michal ; Ziólkowski, Michal: EU judicial independence decentralized: A.K., Common Market Law Review 2020 p. 1107-1138 (EN)
  5. Leloup, Mathieu: An uncertain first step in the field of judicial self-government. ECJ 19 November 2019, joined cases C-585/15, C-624/18 and C-625/18, A.K., CP and DO, European Constitutional Law Review 2020 Vol. 16 Issue I p. 145-169 (EN)
  6. Krzywoń, Adam: La defensa y el desarrollo del principio de independencia judicial en la Unión Europea, Revista española de Derecho Constitucional 2020 nº 119 p. 85-117 (ES)
  7. Magaldi, Nuria: La construcción de un Poder Judicial europeo y las garantías de su independencia, Revista española de Derecho Constitucional 2022 nº 125 p. 127-157 (ES)
  8. Bornemann, Jonas: Of autocratic incrementalism and inadvertent inspirations: the interaction between the European Court of Justice and national lawmakers in the rule of law crisis in Poland, European Law Open 2023, Volume 2, Issue 2, p. 302-321 (EN)



Procedural Analysis Information

Source of the question referred for a preliminary ruling

Sąd Najwyższy - Poland

Subject-matter

  • Fundamental rights
  • - Charter of Fundamental Rights
  • Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties
  • Social policy

Provisions of national law referred to

Information not available

Provisions of international law referred to

Information not available

Procedure and result

  • Reference for a preliminary ruling

Formation of the Court

grande chambre (Cour)

Judge-Rapporteur

Prechal

Advocate General

Tanchev

Language(s) of the Case

  • Polish

Language(s) of the Opinion

  • English