On 7 October, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal delivered K 3/21. This is the latest dramatic volta in the values crisis between the PiS government and the EU. The oral delivery of the judgment has been shrouded in controversy. On the substance, the Tribunal found that Article 1 TEU, Article 4(3) TEU on sincere co-operation, and Article 19 TEU on effective legal protection are incompatible with the Polish constitution insofar as the Court of Justice of the EU uses these provisions to address national judicial independence. In terms of form, the legitimacy of the Tribunal as a court "established by law" has been questioned due to a disputed appointment procedure and adverse judgments of the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights.

This roundtable with Antonia Baraggia (Assistant Professor of Comparative Law, University of Milan), Barbara Grabowska-Moroz (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, DI), Christophe Hillion (Professor, Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo) and Michał Krajewski (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Copenhagen), organized by our journal, the Review of Democracy, brought together experts in the Rule of Law in the EU to debate whether the judgment throws European integration into question. The discussion was moderated by Oliver Garner, (Maurice Wohl Research Fellow in European Rule of Law, Bingham Centre; Editor, Review of Democracy), opening remarks were delivered by Dimitry Kochenov (lead researcher, Rule of Law Workgroup, DI).