As the Act amending the Act on the Amendment of the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ) and Certain Other Acts of 8 December 2017 (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 3) brought about the politicization of the procedure of selecting judge-members of the NCJ, which was in conflict with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, this body, which is key to maintaining the independence of the Polish judiciary, lost the guarantee of its independence from the legislative and executive authorities. Consequently, the status of judges appointed with the participation of this body became defective, as is confirmed by a number of judgments of both international tribunals and Polish courts.