The right to an independent judge in the Court of justice case law: an evolving principle

The right to an independent and impartial judge represents a cornerstone of European Union law. It forms part of the principle of effective judicial protection understood not only in its individual dimension, referring to the protection of the rights of the individual, but also in a broader dimension, defined as “constitutional” or “axiological”, for the but also in a broader dimension, defined as “constitutional” or “axiological”, for the protection of the values of the European Union as described in Article 2 TEU, particularly the rule of law. The aim of this paper is to relate the evolution of the notion of judicial independence to the context of the retreat of the rule of law that has taken place in certain States of the European Union. This is achieved through the study of the European Union Court of Justice case law. In the sea of studies on the political response to rule of law backsliding, the analysis of the case law of the CJEU is particularly relevant because it has been considered as the last guardian against the retreat of the guarantees of the rule of law, in particular with regard to the independence of judges, in the lack of an energic political response. However, it raises some doubts about the limits of the EU system and procedures, or at least regarding their effectiveness.