EU standards regarding individual accountability of judges

This chapter present an analysis of revisiting accountability, impartiality and independence of judges in the context of emerging European Union (EU) standards. Judicial independence and accountability are both evaluated in relation to the judicial system, as well as in relation to individual judges. Accountability of the judiciary is assessed alongside independence as those two concepts are intricately linked. Nowadays, when national constitutional law fails, and in particular the state constitution does not provide effective mechanisms as a safeguard to defend such values as judicial accountability provided by principles of democracy, separation of powers and rule of law, the EU Member States and it citizens are forced to reach for the EU Treaty law. Increasingly, in this context the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) becomes crucial by settling legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions, enforcing the law by infringement proceedings in cases take against a national government for failing to comply with EU law. Recently, in the jurisprudence of the CJEU, the emerging of certain standards related to the independence of national bodies operating in EU Member States authorized to assess disciplinary torts has been developed (i.e. cases such as Poland, Hungary or Romania). For example, domestic legislation cannot provide sanctions for disciplining judges for applying the principle of primacy of EU law. Currently, EU jurisprudence is beginning to create European standards in defence of judges in EU Member States where democracy is broken.