The ECHR issued its judgment in the Wałęsa vs. Poland case on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Wałęsa, Poland's head of state from 1990 to 1995 and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, filed a lawsuit with the ECHR after an appeals court verdict in a case he had brought about the protection of his personal interests, was overturned by the Chamber of Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs of Poland's Supreme Court, according to the Reuters news agency.
The reversal came after Poland's Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is also prosecutor general, lodged an extraordinary appeal in Wałęsa's case.
Wałęsa argued that Ziobro's move had been politically motivated, and that he had not been ensured the right to an independent and impartial tribunal, Reuters reported.
The ECHR on Thursday ruled that Wałęsa's right to a fair trial had not been secured because of "interrelated systemic problems connected with the malfunctioning of national legislation and practice."
The court added that those had been caused by "a defective procedure for judicial appointments," and "the resulting lack of independence on the part of the Chamber of Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court," among other factors.
The ECHR held that, to put an end to systemic violations of the European Convention of Human Rights, "Poland had to take appropriate legislative and other measures" to secure, in its national legal system, "compliance with the requirements of an 'independent and impartial tribunal established by law,'” Reuters reported.
Wałęsa was awarded EUR 30,000 in damages, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, ECHR
