Sfida al primato del diritto dell’Unione europea o alla giurisprudenza della Corte di giustizia sulla rule of law? Riflessioni a margine della sentenza del tribunale costituzionale polacco del 7 ottobre 2021

The article examines the recent judgment K 3/21 of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland that found Articles 1, 2, 4(3) and 19 TEU incompatible with the Polish Constitution, thus rejecting the primacy of Union law. It is submitted that the real target of the Tribunal is not the primacy of EU law as such, but the case law of the Court of Justice on the rule of law, notably the most recent one on the independence of the judiciary. The judgment will be read in the context of the deterioration of the rule of law in Poland and the related dispute between Warsaw and Brussels. The likely consequences of the judgment for the EU legal order will then be examined, in light of the principle of mutual trust. Finally, some considerations will be made on the desirable reactions by the EU institutions.