CELEX: 62019CA0748
Language: en
Date: 2021-11-16 00:00:00
Title: 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)

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.