Snapshot: Confidence in the Courts in Poland and the EU

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ahead of Poland's purge of its Supreme Court on Wednesday, Poles' confidence in their judicial system had reached the majority level for the first time in a decade. Fifty-two percent of Poles surveyed in 2017 -- in the wake of mass protests against what were then only proposed changes to their judiciary -- expressed confidence in their courts.

Like they did last July, tens of thousands of Poles took to the streets last week after the government forced the retirement of Supreme Court justices older than age 65 -- or about one-third of the court's 72 judges. The new law essentially puts Poland's ruling Law and Justice party and the president in full control of the country's judicial system.

The move also continues to put Poland at odds with the European Union, which filed legal action on July 2, alleging that Poland is in breach of its obligations under EU law. Some view the situation in Poland as a test case of the EU's ability to preserve the rule of law throughout the bloc, where majorities in 14 member countries, including Poland, currently express confidence in their respective judicial system and courts.

	Yes, confident	No, not confident
	%	%
Denmark	85	15
Finland	83	17
Luxembourg	76	21
Ireland	74	25
Austria	73	24
Netherlands	71	28
Sweden	69	26
Germany	68	29
United Kingdom	68	31
Belgium	60	38
France	59	38
Estonia	55	27
Poland	52	38
Malta	51	47
Czech Republic	50	40
Hungary	50	42
Croatia	48	49
Lithuania	46	40
Portugal	45	46
Cyprus	42	43
Greece	42	45
Spain	42	56
Romania	41	42
Slovakia	39	53
Italy	30	69
Latvia	30	49
Slovenia	29	70
Bulgaria	22	64
Gallup World Poll, 2017

What makes what happens next in Poland's situation so important is that it is not the only EU member country at odds with the bloc on this issue. For example, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his party also face accusations of infringing on judicial independence, including stacking the courts, that could potentially cost them EU funding. Still, 50% of residents in the country in 2017 expressed confidence in their judicial system.

As their governments have continued to draw the ire of the European Commission, the leadership of the EU has remained fairly popular among Poles and Hungarians, who have viewed membership in the bloc as a benefit. In fact, at the time of the surveys, Poles and Hungarians were more likely to express confidence in the EU's leadership than in their own national government. In Poland, for example, 57% of residents said they were confident in the EU's leadership while 50% expressed confidence in their own.

Takeaway: Critics see recent changes to court systems in Poland and in Hungary as undermining judicial independence and potentially threatening democracy in these countries and elsewhere in the EU. However, at least as of last year, half or more of adults in these two countries -- and many others throughout the bloc -- still had faith in the bedrock of the EU and democracy, the rule of law.