Poland’s struggle to fix its justice system holds lessons for other countries

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — When Donald Tusk’s government came to power in Poland two years ago, it had high ambitions to roll back a political takeover of the judiciary by its nationalist, conservative predecessor.

The reality proved more complicated.

Law and Justice (PiS), which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023, established political control over key judicial institutions by stacking higher courts with friendly judges, and punishing its critics with disciplinary action or assignments to far-away locations. It appointed enough sympathetic judges to the Constitutional Tribunal that a PiS-aligned president can delay government plans by sending them for constitutional review.

European courts have condemned the PiS changes, while regular Poles found themselves facing legal chaos. Efforts to un