Agnieszka Kraińska | In Principle

In the judgment issued on 24 June 2019 in Commission v Poland (Case C-619/18), the Court of Justice held that the law reducing the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court of Poland violated Art. 19 of the Treaty on European Union, which amplifies the principle of the rule of law set forth in Art. 2 of the treaty. Why was this judgment issued?

Following Malta and Liechtenstein, France has become the next country to introduce laws on business activity relating to blockchain, ICOs and cryptocurrencies.

The judgment issued on 25 July following a request for a preliminary ruling from an Irish court in case C-216/18 PPU L.M. does not essentially differ from the opinion issued by the advocate general. The CJEU stated specifically the circumstances in which the executing authority can find an exception to the principle of mutual recognition, but placed the final decision in the hands of the national court executing the European arrest warrant.

On 28 June 2018 the advocate general at the European Court of Justice issued an opinion regarding a request for a preliminary ruling from an Irish court on whether the judicial authority executing a European arrest warrant against a citizen of a different EU member state is required to postpone execution of the warrant in order to determine whether there is a real risk of breach of the right to a fair trial in the issuing state due to deficiencies in the system of justice of the issuing state.

The issue of limits on construction of new on-shore wind turbines was examined by the CJEU. Have technical provisions been introduced without notification of the European Commission, and does this mean that Polish courts are required to refuse to apply them?

The Court of Justice has rejected the advocate general’s opinion and ruled in the Achmea case that investment arbitration, the option provided for in treaties between member states for foreign investors to commence arbitration against a state where it has invested, violates the autonomy of EU law.

The Court of Justice has ruled that under the EU principle of freedom of establishment, transfer of the registered office of a Polish company abroad within the European Economic Area cannot be conditioned on conducting liquidation of the company in Poland.

CJEU Advocate General Melchior Wathelet issued his opinion in C-284/16 Achmea on 19 September 2017. He takes the view that the existence of bilateral investment treaties between member states is compatible with EU law.

According to the advocate general’s opinions in C-434/15 Elite Taxi and C-320/16 Uber France, Uber does not provide information society services, but local transport services which may be regulated by EU member states.

In a judgment issued on 22 June 2017 the Court of Justice took a negative view of the Hungarian system of licences for operation of online gaming. The judgment was preceded by an opinion by Advocate General Maciej Szpunar providing an excellent example of reasoning in cases involving restrictions imposed by EU member states on the freedom to provide services.

Poland’s amended Administrative Procedure Code includes a new chapter governing the conduct of European administrative cooperation.

The latest amendment to the Gambling Act enters into force on 1 April 2017. The effective date may be a joke, but the changes are no laughing matter. Will they achieve the intended results?