Can the EU’s anti-money laundering reform help dictators?

Can the EU’s anti-money laundering reform help dictators?

07.03.2023

Joint submission of the civil society coalition regarding the Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing Can the EU’s anti-money laundering reform help dictators? As the European Union gets closer to adopting […]

Prosecutorial standards in Poland are closer to those in Belarus than in the EU. ODF’s hearing for MEPs with persecuted Polish prosecutors

Prosecutorial standards in Poland are closer to those in Belarus than in the EU. ODF’s hearing for MEPs with persecuted Polish prosecutors

05.03.2021

On 4 March 2021 we organised an online hearing for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), European Parliament advisors and selected journalists under the title “Law and Justice’s Crackdown on Independent Prosecutors in Poland Intensifies”, featuring persecuted Polish independent prosecutors from the Lex Super Omnia association – Katarzyna Kwiatkowska, Jacek Bilewicz and Ewa Wrzosek – […]

A Breach Too Far: Call to the EC on the Assault on Judges Adjudicating on Prosecutor Krasoń’s Case

A Breach Too Far: Call to the EC on the Assault on Judges Adjudicating on Prosecutor Krasoń’s Case

28.01.2021

In the latest instance of the Polish authorities’ open disregard for the rule of law, 14 Cracow judges have been exposed to politicised prosecution and investigations. Their alleged crime? Handing down judgments which were inconvenient for the authorities and failing to persecute Prosecutor Krasoń – a staunch defender of the independence of the judiciary.  This […]

38 MEPs support ODF & SAB’s complaint to the European Commission against Ordo Iuris

38 MEPs support ODF & SAB’s complaint to the European Commission against Ordo Iuris

20.11.2020

The Ordo Iuris Institute is a fundamentalist organisation, highly active in Poland and the EU. It is linked – according to numerous sources – to both the Kremlin and a dangerous Brasilian sect. They are directly responsible for numerous assaults on EU values, most notably human rights and equality, successfully campaigning i.a. against LGBTI rights (being the architects of the “LGBT-free zones” in Poland), for the EU not to ratify the Council of Europe’s “Convention on combating violence against women and domestic violence” (Instanbul Convention) and most notably against the fundamental rights of women. They are behind the recent, barbaric, total abortion ban in Poland, which led to the largest protests the country has seen since the fall of communism.

World’s leading legal scholars in defence of judge Tuleya – ODF’s follow-up letter to the European Commission

World’s leading legal scholars in defence of judge Tuleya – ODF’s follow-up letter to the European Commission

09.06.2020

Today, on June 9, 2020, the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court is holding a closed hearing regarding lifting the immunity of judge Igor Tuleya. This and other glaring violations of ECJ judgements and EU law have compelled the world’s leading legal scholars to sign a follow-up letter by ODF and Prof. Laurent Pech to the European Commission regarding the deterioration of the rule of law in Poland.

Further erosion of the Polish democracy:  providing feedback for the first EU Rule of Law Report

Further erosion of the Polish democracy: providing feedback for the first EU Rule of Law Report

05.05.2020

The Open Dialogue Foundation provided inputs to the first annual Rule of Law Report, the European Commission’s latest oversight mechanism and a part of its wider rule of law toolbox. Together with experts and practitioners from Poland – judges Dariusz Mazur and Agnieszka Niklas-Bibik, as well as former public media employee, Piotr Owczarski – we submitted our feedback on the worrisome developments in the Polish justice system and media sector in 2019 and the first half of 2020. The European Commission’s initiative will result in the “Rule of Law Report”, expected to be published in September 2020.

Decisive phase of the fight for the rule of law in Poland: open letter to the European Commission

Decisive phase of the fight for the rule of law in Poland: open letter to the European Commission

29.04.2020

The next few days and weeks will determine the fate of the Supreme Court, a key institution in the Polish legal system that is currently upholding the independence of the judiciary. In 2018 the Supreme Court was attacked by two foreign bodies, the so-called Disciplinary Chamber (ID) and the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs (IKNiSP). Contrary to their names, they do not consist of independent judges, but of party nominees loyal to the current parliamentary majority and the Law and Justice government.

ODF and ‘Themis’ report on the Polish judiciary published by the European Commission

ODF and ‘Themis’ report on the Polish judiciary published by the European Commission

25.03.2020

The Open Dialogue Foundation is one of eight European organisations whose comments and report on the state of the judiciary in EU Member States in the framework of the EU Justice Scoreboard 2020 initiative have been adopted and published by the European Commission. Our study was prepared together with the ‘Themis’ Association of Judges and concerned the state of the Polish justice system.

“Law and Justice’s Campaign against Polish Judiciary” – ODF’s hearing in the European Parliament

“Law and Justice’s Campaign against Polish Judiciary” – ODF’s hearing in the European Parliament

17.12.2019

In light of the ongoing assault on the independence of the judiciary in Poland by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party – and especially the recently-exposed hate campaign against judges and prosecutors, orchestrated by the justice ministry itself – the Renew Europe group and the Open Dialogue Foundation have organised on December 12th, 2019, a European Parliament lunch debate with prosecutors and judges persecuted in Poland.

ODF among signatories of the letter to the President of EC regarding the breach of the rule of law in Poland

ODF among signatories of the letter to the President of EC regarding the breach of the rule of law in Poland

17.12.2019

Non-governmental organisations (including the Open Dialogue Foundation) and academics specialising in issues related to the rule of law and the protection of human rights, sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission, in which they call for immediate steps to stop the rapidly growing legal chaos in Poland, including prompt submission in the European Court of Justice, of an application for interim measures in Case C-791/19 Commission v Poland, pending before the Court of Justice. The full content of the letter is presented below.

ODF welcomes persecuted Polish judges and prosecutors in Brussels

ODF welcomes persecuted Polish judges and prosecutors in Brussels

16.12.2019

ODF is proud to have organised a high-level mission to Brussels of the most famous “disobedient” Polish judges & prosecutors – the leading victims of the systemic persecution & defamation of the independent judiciary in the country: judges Waldemar Żurek & Dariusz Mazur and prosecutors Krzysztof Parchimowicz & Ewa Wrzosek.

European Commission refutes allegations by two MEPs against ODF

European Commission refutes allegations by two MEPs against ODF

16.08.2018

The Open Dialog Foundation (ODF) received a letter from the office of Mr. Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission, providing responses and explanations regarding the two Polish MEPs’ questioning of the legitimacy of ODF’s registration on the Transparency Register

Europe, do not give up on Poland!

Europe, do not give up on Poland!

06.06.2018

“Just as in 1980 there could not be freedom without solidarity, today there can not be freedom without the rule of law!” – former President Lech Wałęsa appeals to the European Commission regarding the reform of the Supreme Court in Poland, which will come into force on 3 July 2018.

EU: Macro-financial assistance to Moldova only if human rights, democracy and the rule of law are respected

EU: Macro-financial assistance to Moldova only if human rights, democracy and the rule of law are respected

23.06.2017

On 20 June, 2017, Council of the European Union, European Parliament and the European Commission, agreed on the €100 million macro-financial assistance to the Republic of Moldova, linking it with the strict conditions on fight against corruption and money laundering.

Speech by Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialog Foundation, at the European Parliament (Full text)

Speech by Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialog Foundation, at the European Parliament (Full text)

26.10.2016

“I’m speaking about this issue because I know that from every side, Russian propaganda is using every opportunity to attack the EU institutions and I think it’s crucial for human rights defenders, for everyone present in this room, to know that it is really important and we value your work”.