Within the framework of our project “Backsliding Democracies & The Role of Judiciary”, we co-organised a webinar with leading experts including the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite, Professor Laurent Pech and Professor Petra Bard.

Recording of the webinar with subtitles in English is available at: Youtube

Professor Bard focused on the decline of the rule of law within the European Union, specifically in member states like Hungary and Poland. She noted that this is a “systemic” problem, not just an isolated issue.

Professor Pech underlined the fact that the rule of law crisis is an “existential threat” to the EU and the Council of Europe, citing strong language from the presidents of both the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights.

Professor Satterthwaite detailed four main strategies used by political leaders to dismantle judicial independence by politicizing institutions, reducing their power, misusing legal processes to punish actors, and employing extreme unlawful measures like public denigration.