Bulletin of the Institute for Western Affairs, ed. 30 (450): The European Commission’s Report on the Rule of Law Situation in the Federal Republic of Germany – a critical commentary

Bulletin of the Institute for Western Affairs, ed. 30 (450)/2020: Magdalena Bainczyk, „The European Commission’s Report on the Rule of Law Situation in the Federal Republic of Germany – a critical commentary”

On 30 September 2020 the European Commission published a Report on the Rule of Law Situation in Germany . Of greatest interest in the Report are its shortcomings and omissions with regard to the operation of the German judicial system. This is yet another EU document, following e.g. the judgment of the CJEU of 9 July 2020 , which perpetrates a state of illegality in two respects: 1. The legal basis for assessing respect for the rule of law in the Member States in general - there is no basis in the Treaties for EU institutions to take action in this area , and the content of the rule has not been clearly specified and can thus be freely shaped by the EU institutions, in particular by the European Commission. The Report in question is a model example of this statement 2. The assessment of respect for the rule of law in the operation of justice in Germany was carried out superficially, selectively and therefore unreliably. In all probability, the Commission's proposals in this area are justified by neither the legal nor the factual state of affairs.