Joined Cases C-748/19 to C-754/19: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 November 2021 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie — Poland) — Criminal proceedings against WB (C-748/19), XA and YZ (C-749/19), DT (C-750/19), ZY (C-751/19), AX (C-752/19), BV (C-753/19) and CU (C-754/19) (References for a preliminary ruling — Rule of law — Independence of the judiciary — Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU — National legislation providing the possibility for the Minister for Justice to second judges to higher courts and to terminate those secondments — Adjudicating panels in criminal cases including judges seconded by the Minister for Justice — Directive (EU) 2016/343 — Presumption of innocence)
Date: 2021-11-16
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: criminal proceedings, higher court, independence of the judiciary, judge, minister, reassignment, rights of the defence, rule of law








C_2022024EN.01000302.xml










17.1.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 24/3






Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 November 2021 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie — Poland) — Criminal proceedings against WB (C-748/19), XA and YZ (C-749/19), DT (C-750/19), ZY (C-751/19), AX (C-752/19), BV (C-753/19) and CU (C-754/19)
(Joined Cases C-748/19 to C-754/19) (1)

(References for a preliminary ruling - Rule of law - Independence of the judiciary - Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU - National legislation providing the possibility for the Minister for Justice to second judges to higher courts and to terminate those secondments - Adjudicating panels in criminal cases including judges seconded by the Minister for Justice - Directive (EU) 2016/343 - Presumption of innocence)
(2022/C 24/04)
Language of the case: Polish

Referring court

Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie

Criminal proceedings against

WB (C-748/19), XA and YZ (C-749/19), DT (C-750/19), ZY (C-751/19), AX (C-752/19), BV (C-753/19) and CU (C-754/19)

other parties: Prokuratura Krajowa, formerly Prokuratura Rejonowa w Mińsku Mazowieckim (C-748/19), Prokuratura Rejonowa Warszawa-Żoliborz w Warszawie (C-749/19), Prokuratura Rejonowa Warszawa-Wola w Warszawie (C-750/19, C-753/19 and C-754/19), Prokuratura Rejonowa w Pruszkowie (C-751/19) and Prokuratura Rejonowa Warszawa-Ursynów w Warszawie (C-752/19), as well as Pictura sp. z o.o. (C-754/19)

Operative part of the judgment

The second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU, read in the light of Article 2 TEU, and Article 6(1) and (2) of Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings must be interpreted as precluding provisions of national legislation pursuant to which the Minister for Justice of a Member State may, on the basis of criteria which have not been made public, second a judge to a higher criminal court for a fixed or indefinite period and may, at any time, by way of a decision which does not contain a statement of reasons, terminate that secondment, irrespective of whether that secondment is for a fixed or indefinite period.


(1)  OJ C 54, 17.2.2020.