Just finished reading this important Grand Chamber ruling re #ruleoflaw breakdown in Poland. There is a lot more than meets the eye & looking beyond (expected) outcome of case, key point = initiation of disciplinary investigation against referring judges violated EU law
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2/ Outcome: Both AG and Grand Chamber agree = requests in these 2 cases for a preliminary ruling concerning Polish measures from 2017 establishing a disciplinary procedure regime for judges are inadmissible but ECJ did not stop there 
3/ Why inadmissible? In a nutshell, because not apparent from orders for reference there is a connecting factor btw key provision of EU law (i.e. Art 19(1) TEU/judicial independence) to which the Qs referred for a preliminary ruling relate and the disputes in the main proceedings
4/ This complex issue/potential problem for referring judges when it comes to asking Art 19(1) Qs & connecting these Qs to *outcome* of pending proceedings was highlighted in case note by @PlatonSbastien & yours truly re seminal “Portuguese judges” ruling: kluwerlawonline.com/abstract.php?a…
@PlatonSbastien 5/ Why is this case another defeat for PL ruling party’s Soviet-style “reforms” (note to ECJ: these are *NOT* "reforms" but *changes*): ECJ confirms Polish authorities cannot destroy their judicial system and claim judicial requirements laid down in EU law do not apply to them
@PlatonSbastien 6/ What is new & why this case = more bad news for ruling party: 1st ECJ ruling making unambiguously clear EU MS are forbidden to “expose national judges to disciplinary proceedings as a result of the fact that they submitted a reference to the Court for a preliminary ruling”
@PlatonSbastien 7/ And this is why we must be grateful to the brave judges of Łódź & Warsaw. They have given ECJ opportunity to make clear PL Disciplinary Officer violated EU law when initiating Kafkaesque disciplinary proceedings for “a possible exceeding of jurisdiction" (yeah totally nuts)
@PlatonSbastien 8/ Here – and this is crucial – ECJ goes beyond AG’s analysis: mere *prospect* of being *exposed* to disciplinary proceedings in this context violates EU law = Deputy Disciplinary Officer guilty of gross violation of EU law when they went after Judges Tuleya and Maciejewska
@PlatonSbastien 9/ = new disciplinary regime for judges is bound to be found to fundamentally breach EU law in pending case C-791/19 with ECJ soon to issue its interim order re sham, bogus "Disciplinary Chamber" which is continuing to function in open violation of ECJ/Polish Sup Court rulings
@PlatonSbastien 10/ Last but not least ECJ Grand Chamber ruling contains a key, not so subliminal message to @EU_Commission led by M.I.A. @vonderleyen: DO YOUR JOB as Guardian of Treaties & bring us more infringement actions starting with Soviet-inspired #MuzzleLaw verfassungsblog.de/open-letter-to…
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@PlatonSbastien @EU_Commission @vonderleyen P.S. Ruling party and henchmen just confirmed they couldn't care less about violating EU law and disobeying ECJ rulings (not that further evidence was needed). @vonderleyen: if you do not WAKE UP the EU legal order is bound to disintegrate sooner or later
